Nippon -
Mt. Fuji
Sea of Japan
Pacific
Hokkaido
Honshu
Tokyo
Tokyo Bay
Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto
Hiroshima
Kyushu
Nagasaki
Shikoku
Okinawa
S. Korea
China
Russia
Friday, January 05, 2007
Cmhs 9th grade students teaching Stoner Elem 4th graders
The weekly, basic world geography homework this semester will be to read this web site at least 3 times a week.
The recommended schedule is Sunday afternoon, Tues and Thurs.
The articles I choose for your reading are selected with your future in mind. They are, in effect, an updated form of a textbook.
The recommended schedule is Sunday afternoon, Tues and Thurs.
The articles I choose for your reading are selected with your future in mind. They are, in effect, an updated form of a textbook.
Fun with your digital camera: Camera Toss
Google *camera toss* and you will find the technique for this silly type of photography. It can produce graceful, abstract images and spark a party or discussion with friends.
Remember: bring camera And Cable to class for Student Photo time. We will be evaluating your photos - strengths & areas for improvement - as well as cameras.
Remember: bring camera And Cable to class for Student Photo time. We will be evaluating your photos - strengths & areas for improvement - as well as cameras.
Shibboleths: hip word or catchphrase used by particular groups
Under the category of sociology or anthropology in composing a social studies scientific method paper (SSSMP), I've suggested an investigation of a shibboleth. Two of my first hour students suggested the term "ballin." I found an assortment of explanations of this slang phrase under the urbandictionary.com. See more below:
1. ballin
Ebonics.
1.) To play basketball.
2.) Living in affluence/wealth.
(Using the word in a coherent, non-ebonics sentence) He called me up and told me he was ballin, but I later found out he was cheating on me.
2. ballin
Livin the good life
"Im still ballin" (im still livin the good life)
3. Ballin
1) To play Basketball (B-Ball)
2) To live a rich, uperclass life after growing up a poor - ghetto - low class life ; To perform illegal or shady actions to make and/or keep money (not always rich)
"I'm ballin for the money"
4. ballin
1. To be well respected, high in status, wealthy; a "player".
2. To preform in the act of playing basketball.
Check out those rims, hommie. He be ballin.
5. ballin
Living a life of extreme wealth and flaunting it. Sadly enough, young people from not so wealthy families think its cool to blow off thousands of dollars on jewlry and clothes instead of trying to move out of the ghetto and finding a better way of life.
lil' joe is ballin' wit dat phat gold chain and ice.(too bad he spent all of his momma's hidden stash buying it).
6. ballin
1. n): To play basketball
2) adj): One who is in a state of being extremely rich and likes to show off how rich he is.
Master P is ballin with all his money.
1. ballin
Ebonics.
1.) To play basketball.
2.) Living in affluence/wealth.
(Using the word in a coherent, non-ebonics sentence) He called me up and told me he was ballin, but I later found out he was cheating on me.
2. ballin
Livin the good life
"Im still ballin" (im still livin the good life)
3. Ballin
1) To play Basketball (B-Ball)
2) To live a rich, uperclass life after growing up a poor - ghetto - low class life ; To perform illegal or shady actions to make and/or keep money (not always rich)
"I'm ballin for the money"
4. ballin
1. To be well respected, high in status, wealthy; a "player".
2. To preform in the act of playing basketball.
Check out those rims, hommie. He be ballin.
5. ballin
Living a life of extreme wealth and flaunting it. Sadly enough, young people from not so wealthy families think its cool to blow off thousands of dollars on jewlry and clothes instead of trying to move out of the ghetto and finding a better way of life.
lil' joe is ballin' wit dat phat gold chain and ice.(too bad he spent all of his momma's hidden stash buying it).
6. ballin
1. n): To play basketball
2) adj): One who is in a state of being extremely rich and likes to show off how rich he is.
Master P is ballin with all his money.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Guidelines in using the Scientific Method
The scientific method is the "tool" that scientists use to find the answers to questions. It is the process of thinking through the possible solutions to a problem and testing each possibility to find the best solution. The scientific method involves the following steps:
Research
Problem
Hypothesis
Project Experimentation
Project Conclusion
Research
Research is the process of collecting information from your own experiences, knowledgeable sources, and data from exploratory experiments. Your first research is used to select a project topic. This is called topic research. For example, you observe a black growth on bread slices and wonder how it got there. Because of this experience, you decide to learn more about mold growth. Your topic will be about fungal reproduction. (Fungal refers to plant-like organisms called fungi, which cannot make their own food, and reproduction is the making of a new offspring.) CAUTION: If you are allergic to mold, this is not a topic you would investigate. Choose a topic that is safe for you to do.
After you have selected a topic, you begin what is called project research. This is research to help you understand the topic, express a problem, propose a hypothesis, and design one or more project experiments—experiments designed to test the hypothesis. An example of project research would be to place a fresh loaf of white bread in a bread box and observe the bread over a period of time as an exploratory experiment. The result of this experiment and other research give you the needed information for the next step—identifying the problem.
Do use many references from printed sources—books, journals, magazines, and newspapers—as well as electronic sources—computer software and online services.
Do gather information from professionals—instructors, librarians, and scientists, such as physicians and veterinarians.
Do perform other exploratory experiment related to your topic.
Problem
The problem is the scientific question to be solved. It is best expressed as an "open-ended" question, which is a question that is answered with a statement, not just a yes or a no. For example, "How does light affect the reproduction of bread mold on white bread?"
Do limit your problem. Note that the previous question is about one life process of molds—reproduction; one type of mold—bread mold; one type of bread—white bread; and one factor that affects its growth—light. To find the answer to a question such as "How does light affect molds?" would require that you test different life processes and an extensive variety of molds.
Do choose a problem that can be solved experimentally. For example, the question "What is a mold?" can be answered by finding the definition of the word mold in the dictionary. But, "At room temperature, what is the growth rate of bread mold on white bread?" is a question that can be answered by experimentation.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an idea about the solution to a problem, based on knowledge and research. While the hypothesis is a single statement, it is the key to a successful project. All of your project research is done with the goal of expressing a problem, proposing an answer to it (the hypothesis), and designing project experimentation. Then all of your project experimenting will be performed to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis should make a claim about how two factors relate. For example, in the following sample hypothesis, the two relating factors are light and bread mold growth. Here is one example of a hypothesis for the earlier problem question:
"I believe that bread mold does not need light for reproduction on white bread. I base my hypothesis on these facts:
Organisms with chlorophyll need light to survive. Molds do not have chlorophyll.
In my exploratory experiment, bread mold grew on white bread kept in a dark bread box."
Do state facts from past experiences or observations on which you base your hypothesis.
Do write down your hypothesis before beginning the project experimentation.
Don't change your hypothesis even if experimentation does not support it. If time permits, repeat or redesign the experiment to confirm your results.
Project Experimentation
Project experimentation is the process of testing a hypothesis. The things that have an effect on the experiment are called variables. There are three kinds of variables that you need to identify in your experiments: independent, dependent, and controlled.
The independent variable is the variable you purposely manipulate (change). The dependent variable is the variable that is being observed, which changes in response to the independent variable. The variables that are not changed are called controlled variables.
The problem in this section concerns the effect of light on the reproduction of bread mold. The independent variable for the experiment is light and the dependent variable is bread mold reproduction. A control is a test in which the independent variable is kept constant in order to measure changes in the dependent variable. In a control, all variables are identical to the experimental setup—your original setup—except for the independent variable. Factors that are identical in both the experimental setup and the control setup are the controlled variables. For example, prepare the experiment by placing three or four loaves of white bread in cardboard boxes the size of a bread box, one loaf per box. Close the boxes so that they receive no light. If, at the end of a set time period, the mold grows, you might decide that no light was needed for mold reproduction. But, before making this decision, you must determine experimentally if the mold would grow with light. Thus, control groups must be set up of bread that receives light throughout the testing period. Do this by placing an equal number of loaves in comparable-size boxes, but leave them open.
The other variables for the experimental and control setup, such as the environmental conditions for the room where the boxes are placed—temperature and humidity—and the brand of the breads used must be kept the same. These are controlled variables. Note that when designing the procedure of your project experiment, you must include steps for measuring the results. For example, to measure the amount of mold growth, you might draw 1/2-inch (1-cm) squares on a transparent sheet of plastic. This could be placed over the bread, and the number of squares with mold growth could be counted. Also, as it is best to perform the experiment more than once, it is also good to have more than one control. You might have one control for every experimental setup.
Do have only one independent variable during an experiment.
Do repeat the experiment more than once to verify your results.
Do have a control.
Do have more than one control, with each being identical.
Do organize data. (See A Sample Project for information on organizing data from experiments.)
Project Conclusion
The project conclusion is a summary of the results of the project experimentation and a statement of how the results relate to the hypothesis. Reasons for experimental results that are contrary to the hypothesis are included. If applicable, the conclusion can end by giving ideas for further testing.
If your results do not support your hypothesis:
DON'T change your hypothesis.
DON'T leave out experimental results that do not support your hypothesis.
DO give possible reasons for the difference between your hypothesis and the experimental results.
DO give ways that you can experiment further to find a solution.
If your results support your hypothesis:
You might say, for example, "As stated in my hypothesis, I believe that light is not necessary during the germination of bean seeds. My experimentation supports the idea that bean seeds will germinate without light. After seven days, the seeds tested were seen growing in full light and in no light. It is possible that some light reached the 'no light' containers that were placed in a dark closet. If I were to improve on this experiment, I would place the 'no light' containers in a light-proof box and/or wrap them in light-proof material, such as aluminum foil.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Google’s Answer to Filling Jobs: New Algorithm
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Have you ever made a profit from a catering business or dog walking? Do you prefer to work alone or in groups? Have you ever set a world record in anything?
The right answers could help get you a job at Google.
Google has always wanted to hire people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs. Now, like an Ivy League school, it is starting to look for more well-rounded candidates, like those who have published books or started their own clubs.
Desperate to hire more engineers and sales representatives to staff its rapidly growing search and advertising business, Google — in typical eccentric fashion — has created an automated way to search for talent among the more than 100,000 job applications it receives each month. It is starting to ask job applicants to fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school.
The questions range from the age when applicants first got excited about computers to whether they have ever tutored or ever established a nonprofit organization.
NY Times, Jan 2: The answers are fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s mathematicians that calculate a score — from zero to 100 — meant to predict how well a person will fit into its chaotic and competitive culture.
“As we get bigger, we find it harder and harder to find enough people,” said Laszlo Bock, Google’s vice president for people operations. “With traditional hiring methods, we were worried we will overlook some of the best candidates.”
The right answers could help get you a job at Google.
Google has always wanted to hire people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs. Now, like an Ivy League school, it is starting to look for more well-rounded candidates, like those who have published books or started their own clubs.
Desperate to hire more engineers and sales representatives to staff its rapidly growing search and advertising business, Google — in typical eccentric fashion — has created an automated way to search for talent among the more than 100,000 job applications it receives each month. It is starting to ask job applicants to fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school.
The questions range from the age when applicants first got excited about computers to whether they have ever tutored or ever established a nonprofit organization.
NY Times, Jan 2: The answers are fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s mathematicians that calculate a score — from zero to 100 — meant to predict how well a person will fit into its chaotic and competitive culture.
“As we get bigger, we find it harder and harder to find enough people,” said Laszlo Bock, Google’s vice president for people operations. “With traditional hiring methods, we were worried we will overlook some of the best candidates.”
Google’s Answer to Filling Jobs: New Algorithm
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Have you ever made a profit from a catering business or dog walking? Do you prefer to work alone or in groups? Have you ever set a world record in anything?
The right answers could help get you a job at Google.
Google has always wanted to hire people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs. Now, like an Ivy League school, it is starting to look for more well-rounded candidates, like those who have published books or started their own clubs.
Desperate to hire more engineers and sales representatives to staff its rapidly growing search and advertising business, Google — in typical eccentric fashion — has created an automated way to search for talent among the more than 100,000 job applications it receives each month. It is starting to ask job applicants to fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school.
The questions range from the age when applicants first got excited about computers to whether they have ever tutored or ever established a nonprofit organization.
NY Times, Jan 2: The answers are fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s mathematicians that calculate a score — from zero to 100 — meant to predict how well a person will fit into its chaotic and competitive culture.
“As we get bigger, we find it harder and harder to find enough people,” said Laszlo Bock, Google’s vice president for people operations. “With traditional hiring methods, we were worried we will overlook some of the best candidates.”
The right answers could help get you a job at Google.
Google has always wanted to hire people with straight-A report cards and double 800s on their SATs. Now, like an Ivy League school, it is starting to look for more well-rounded candidates, like those who have published books or started their own clubs.
Desperate to hire more engineers and sales representatives to staff its rapidly growing search and advertising business, Google — in typical eccentric fashion — has created an automated way to search for talent among the more than 100,000 job applications it receives each month. It is starting to ask job applicants to fill out an elaborate online survey that explores their attitudes, behavior, personality and biographical details going back to high school.
The questions range from the age when applicants first got excited about computers to whether they have ever tutored or ever established a nonprofit organization.
NY Times, Jan 2: The answers are fed into a series of formulas created by Google’s mathematicians that calculate a score — from zero to 100 — meant to predict how well a person will fit into its chaotic and competitive culture.
“As we get bigger, we find it harder and harder to find enough people,” said Laszlo Bock, Google’s vice president for people operations. “With traditional hiring methods, we were worried we will overlook some of the best candidates.”
The Energy Challenge / Wal-Mart Puts Some Muscle Behind Power-Sipping Bulbs NYT 01/02/07
NY Times: As a way to cut energy use, it could not be simpler. Unscrew a light bulb that uses a lot of electricity and replace it with one that uses much less.
While it sounds like a promising idea, it turns out that the long-lasting, swirl-shaped light bulbs known as compact fluorescent lamps are to the nation’s energy problem what vegetables are to its obesity epidemic: a near perfect answer, if only Americans could be persuaded to swallow them.
But now Wal-Mart Stores, the giant discount retailer, is determined to push them into at least 100 million homes. And its ambitions extend even further, spurred by a sweeping commitment from its chief executive, H. Lee Scott Jr., to reduce energy use across the country, a move that could also improve Wal-Mart’s appeal to the more affluent consumers the chain must win over to keep growing in the United States.
“The environment,” Mr. Scott said, “is begging for the Wal-Mart business model.”
It is the environmental movement’s dream: America’s biggest company, legendary for its salesmanship and influence with suppliers, encouraging 200 million shoppers to save energy.
For all its power in retailing, though, Wal-Mart is meeting plenty of resistance — from light-bulb makers, competitors and consumers. To help turn the tide, it is even reaching out to unlikely partners like Google, Home Depot and Hollywood.
A compact fluorescent has clear advantages over the widely used incandescent light — it uses 75 percent less electricity, lasts 10 times longer, produces 450 pounds fewer greenhouse gases from power plants and saves consumers $30 over the life of each bulb. But it is eight times as expensive as a traditional bulb, gives off a harsher light and has a peculiar appearance.
As a result, the bulbs have languished on store shelves for a quarter century; only 6 percent of households use the bulbs today.
Negev Fish: an anomaly? What can the desert have to do with fish?
Tapping a Desert Aquifer
KIBBUTZ MASHABBE SADE, Israel — The day’s coppery last light reflects off the backs of sea bass swimming in fish ponds lined in neat rows on this desert farm.
Writes Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times:
A fisherman at work, at top and center, on a fish farm at the kibbutz that raises about 15,000 fish at a time. The organic waste water produced in the farming process is being used to grow plants in hothouses. Fish farming in the desert may at first sound like an anomaly, but in Israel over the last decade a scientific hunch has turned into a bustling business.
Scientists here say they realized they were on to something when they found that brackish water drilled from underground desert aquifers hundreds of feet deep could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proved an ideal match.
“It was not simple to convince people that growing fish in the desert makes sense,” said Samuel Appelbaum, a professor and fish biologist at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at the Sede Boqer campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
“It is important to stop with the reputation that arid land is nonfertile, useless land,” said Professor Appelbaum, who pioneered the concept of desert aquaculture in Israel in the late 1980s. “We should consider arid land where subsurface water exists as land that has great opportunities, especially in food production because of the low level of competition on the land itself and because it gives opportunities to its inhabitants.”
More at "From Far Beneath the Israeli Desert, Water Sustains a Fertile Enterprise" NYT Jan 2, 07
Monday, January 01, 2007
Lighten Up Louisiana, a competition and way for the Bayou State to be healthier
Lighten Up Louisiana Registration is Open!!
You can sign up with a Team or as an Individual Participant. And its FREE!! The first 1,000 participants that sign up will receive free pedometers!
January 17, 2007 is the kick-off date but you can register now! Remember, wait for the kick-off before you log those miles.
Got Pictures? Send us your Team or Individual pics and get your own Lighten Up web page to add any information you choose. You can share healthy physical activity and nutrition secrets or exercise routines.
Also, you can tell us your favorite place to workout or hangout for great physical activity and fun! Share your wonderful recipes for healthy eating and much, much more!
The Lighten Louisiana Kids program will run the same time as the adults! So sign your kids up too!
You can sign up with a Team or as an Individual Participant. And its FREE!! The first 1,000 participants that sign up will receive free pedometers!
January 17, 2007 is the kick-off date but you can register now! Remember, wait for the kick-off before you log those miles.
Got Pictures? Send us your Team or Individual pics and get your own Lighten Up web page to add any information you choose. You can share healthy physical activity and nutrition secrets or exercise routines.
Also, you can tell us your favorite place to workout or hangout for great physical activity and fun! Share your wonderful recipes for healthy eating and much, much more!
The Lighten Louisiana Kids program will run the same time as the adults! So sign your kids up too!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Expanding our consciousness in Iraq, from the Economist
Military doctrine / Think before you shoot
Dec 19th 2006 From The Economist print edition
A new field manual teaches American forces how to fight elusive insurgents
AMERICA is no stranger to “small wars”: those messy conflicts where the hard part is not to destroy the enemy but to identify him and where there are no front-lines or clear-cut victories. As its power expanded in the 19th century, America raided the Barbary coast, intervened in China, colonised the Philippines and carried out many landings in the Caribbean. But this long experience of imperial policing has been strangely forgotten. The triumph of the second world war, the ignominy of Vietnam and confrontation with the massed armies of the Soviet block in the cold war convinced America to turn away from small wars to concentrate on winning the big ones.
These days, however, American commanders are reaching for the history books as they discover that high-tech firepower is of little use—and can often be counter-productive—in the streets of Baghdad. Some have sought inspiration in classics such as T. E. Lawrence's “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, published in 1922, or the Marine Corps' rediscovered “Small Wars Manual” of 1940. On December 15th they got some official help in the form of a new joint army and marines field manual.
“FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency” makes awkward reading for those trained in the notion of out-manoeuvring and annihilating an enemy force. Now American troops must be “ready to be greeted with either a handshake or a hand grenade” and must be “nation-builders as well as warriors”. Under the new doctrine, fighting insurgents involves “armed social work”. “Sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction,” says the manual. The best weapon is sometimes none at all. The prime objective is not to kill as many insurgents as possible but to maximise support from the local population. Above all, troops must adapt quickly.
Instead of isolating themselves in large camps and driving around in armoured vehicles, the manual advises American troops to live “close to the populace”, move on foot, sleep in villages and patrol by day and night. Each company should have a political as well as a “cultural” adviser. Platoons should assign their best soldiers to intelligence and surveillance, even at the cost of firepower. Forget the chain of command: decisions should be taken by consensus where possible.
Soldiering is only one strand. It must be entwined with others—including providing essential services, promoting good governance, building up local security forces and devising an information policy to counter insurgents' propaganda.
The 282-page manual reads at times like a litany of the things America has done wrong in Iraq. But those arguing for withdrawal will find little solace. Insurgencies, it says, “are protracted by nature”. America and its allies must show the “ability, stamina, and will to win”.
Moreover, counter-insurgency cannot be done on the cheap. It requires large amounts of manpower—some 20 to 25 members of security forces for every 1,000 civilians. The 483,000 combined coalition and Iraqi forces (of dubious quality and loyalty) fall well short of the 535,000 to 670,000 required to secure Iraq.
If American commanders' response to Vietnam was to foreswear nasty small wars, their reaction to the fiasco in Iraq seems so far to be quite different: to learn to fight them better. The new manual is a first step, but America's military culture may stand in need of deeper change. A start might be to rewrite the first words of its “warrior ethos”, whereby every soldier declares: “I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America.”
Dec 19th 2006 From The Economist print edition
A new field manual teaches American forces how to fight elusive insurgents
AMERICA is no stranger to “small wars”: those messy conflicts where the hard part is not to destroy the enemy but to identify him and where there are no front-lines or clear-cut victories. As its power expanded in the 19th century, America raided the Barbary coast, intervened in China, colonised the Philippines and carried out many landings in the Caribbean. But this long experience of imperial policing has been strangely forgotten. The triumph of the second world war, the ignominy of Vietnam and confrontation with the massed armies of the Soviet block in the cold war convinced America to turn away from small wars to concentrate on winning the big ones.
These days, however, American commanders are reaching for the history books as they discover that high-tech firepower is of little use—and can often be counter-productive—in the streets of Baghdad. Some have sought inspiration in classics such as T. E. Lawrence's “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, published in 1922, or the Marine Corps' rediscovered “Small Wars Manual” of 1940. On December 15th they got some official help in the form of a new joint army and marines field manual.
“FM 3-24 Counterinsurgency” makes awkward reading for those trained in the notion of out-manoeuvring and annihilating an enemy force. Now American troops must be “ready to be greeted with either a handshake or a hand grenade” and must be “nation-builders as well as warriors”. Under the new doctrine, fighting insurgents involves “armed social work”. “Sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction,” says the manual. The best weapon is sometimes none at all. The prime objective is not to kill as many insurgents as possible but to maximise support from the local population. Above all, troops must adapt quickly.
Instead of isolating themselves in large camps and driving around in armoured vehicles, the manual advises American troops to live “close to the populace”, move on foot, sleep in villages and patrol by day and night. Each company should have a political as well as a “cultural” adviser. Platoons should assign their best soldiers to intelligence and surveillance, even at the cost of firepower. Forget the chain of command: decisions should be taken by consensus where possible.
Soldiering is only one strand. It must be entwined with others—including providing essential services, promoting good governance, building up local security forces and devising an information policy to counter insurgents' propaganda.
The 282-page manual reads at times like a litany of the things America has done wrong in Iraq. But those arguing for withdrawal will find little solace. Insurgencies, it says, “are protracted by nature”. America and its allies must show the “ability, stamina, and will to win”.
Moreover, counter-insurgency cannot be done on the cheap. It requires large amounts of manpower—some 20 to 25 members of security forces for every 1,000 civilians. The 483,000 combined coalition and Iraqi forces (of dubious quality and loyalty) fall well short of the 535,000 to 670,000 required to secure Iraq.
If American commanders' response to Vietnam was to foreswear nasty small wars, their reaction to the fiasco in Iraq seems so far to be quite different: to learn to fight them better. The new manual is a first step, but America's military culture may stand in need of deeper change. A start might be to rewrite the first words of its “warrior ethos”, whereby every soldier declares: “I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America.”
Second semester overview: from the Land of the Rising Sun to the sunset of the Spanish Inquisition
Second semester in world geography -
Skills to be emphasized -
* Scientific method: as demonstrated in a brief but well-reasoned social studies fair-type project. Question / hypothesis / evidence gathering / conclusion / evaluation / synopsis.
* Essay guidelines: colorful opening, generalities & evidence,
documentation.
* Effective lighting & composition in photography.
* Effective lighting & audio in video production.
* Assembling a personal portfolio / resume.
* Analysis of issues as portrayed in editorial cartoons.
* Use of charts, diagrams, graphs in geographic communications.
* Analysis in migrations and demographic trends.
* Description & analysis in natural resources.
* Description in physical systems: rifts, biosphere, hydrosohere, lithosphere, earthquakes.
* Analysis of diplomacy and warfare in world affairs.
* Assessment & analysis of economic systems.
* Evaluation of environmental issues and solutions.
Units -
* Photography in the social sciences.
* Scientific method and social studies research.
* Japan: culture and historic impact. Technology and trends.
* Africa: resources & issues across the continent.
* West Africa and its influence on American culture.
* Greece: classical history and influences on the US.
* Russia: contemporary global impact and history.
* Germany: relationship with the US via history and technology.
* France: art, cuisine and contemporary role.
* L'Italia: the influence of the Roman Empire and Christian church.
* Britain: democracy, the press, language & the empire.
* Spain: the impact of the empire on global affairs.
Skills to be emphasized -
* Scientific method: as demonstrated in a brief but well-reasoned social studies fair-type project. Question / hypothesis / evidence gathering / conclusion / evaluation / synopsis.
* Essay guidelines: colorful opening, generalities & evidence,
documentation.
* Effective lighting & composition in photography.
* Effective lighting & audio in video production.
* Assembling a personal portfolio / resume.
* Analysis of issues as portrayed in editorial cartoons.
* Use of charts, diagrams, graphs in geographic communications.
* Analysis in migrations and demographic trends.
* Description & analysis in natural resources.
* Description in physical systems: rifts, biosphere, hydrosohere, lithosphere, earthquakes.
* Analysis of diplomacy and warfare in world affairs.
* Assessment & analysis of economic systems.
* Evaluation of environmental issues and solutions.
Units -
* Photography in the social sciences.
* Scientific method and social studies research.
* Japan: culture and historic impact. Technology and trends.
* Africa: resources & issues across the continent.
* West Africa and its influence on American culture.
* Greece: classical history and influences on the US.
* Russia: contemporary global impact and history.
* Germany: relationship with the US via history and technology.
* France: art, cuisine and contemporary role.
* L'Italia: the influence of the Roman Empire and Christian church.
* Britain: democracy, the press, language & the empire.
* Spain: the impact of the empire on global affairs.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Camera for Xmas?
Our first unit of the new semester will be Photography in the Social Studies. In it you will see the impact of photos on the social sciences (conservation, poverty, health, etc). You will learn to use photography as an academic skill (record keeping, in history, literature, etc).
It's a lifetime skill and you can show great improvement in a hurry.
***********
Tonight, Mon Dec 18, is the last point at which I'll accept independent work unless the situation is extreme.
Exams are going well. Have the print-out from the web site, a pencil and paper for the essay.
Good luck getting your sleep. And in slowing down as you work through each exam.
It's a lifetime skill and you can show great improvement in a hurry.
***********
Tonight, Mon Dec 18, is the last point at which I'll accept independent work unless the situation is extreme.
Exams are going well. Have the print-out from the web site, a pencil and paper for the essay.
Good luck getting your sleep. And in slowing down as you work through each exam.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Sample test on the life of Gandhi
Gandhi and India
1. Gandhi’s first success in protest work took place in the nation of ____ _____.
2. One of Gandhi’s legal tacks was to assert that Indians were due rights since they were ____ subjects.
3. Gandhi’s strategy called for using the principles of the ________ religion.
4. He also knew that two institutions in British life would be helpful to his movement for fairness to Indians: the British ______ system, and the free ____ of England.
5. Gandhi was assassinated by a fanatic from the ____ religion. “Bapu” (Hindi nickname: “father”) was 78 years old.
6. One of his principal issues was increased tolerance between the primary religious sects of India: ___ and ___.
7. In 1919 a British general brought his troops to the site of a peaceful meeting in a Sikh temple courtyard. When the incident was over some 400 defenseless people were ____.
8. After 1920 Gandhi began a campaign against the British domination of the textiles sold in India. From that point he was usually photographed with a basic implement called a ____ ____.
9. In 1930 Gandhiji led a 240 mile march to the sea. He was protesting the British tax on the food-related substance: ____.
10. In the protests he led Gandhi emphasized a) creative violence b) non-violence.
11. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, by the shores of the ______ Sea.
12. During WWII, 1939 - 1945, Gandhi was sympathetic to British war needs and ceased his protest work. T / F
13. Gandhi did not want to see India separated in 1947. Nonetheless the vast nation was partitioned. Muslims were given the new nations of ______ and _____.
14. Few leaders have effectively reached out to a chaotic society like Gandhi did in the 1930’s and 40’s. When all of his appeals failed he touched the masses of India by undertaking a personal ____.
15. His principal journey outside of India in search of freedom for India was to a home rule conference in _______.
Answers:
1. South Africa 2. British 3. Christian 4. legal, speech 5. Hindu
6. Hindu, Muslim 7. murdered 8. spinning wheel 9. salt
10. b) non-violence 11. Arabian Sea 12. False
13. Pakistan, Bangladesh 14. fast 15. London, England
1. Gandhi’s first success in protest work took place in the nation of ____ _____.
2. One of Gandhi’s legal tacks was to assert that Indians were due rights since they were ____ subjects.
3. Gandhi’s strategy called for using the principles of the ________ religion.
4. He also knew that two institutions in British life would be helpful to his movement for fairness to Indians: the British ______ system, and the free ____ of England.
5. Gandhi was assassinated by a fanatic from the ____ religion. “Bapu” (Hindi nickname: “father”) was 78 years old.
6. One of his principal issues was increased tolerance between the primary religious sects of India: ___ and ___.
7. In 1919 a British general brought his troops to the site of a peaceful meeting in a Sikh temple courtyard. When the incident was over some 400 defenseless people were ____.
8. After 1920 Gandhi began a campaign against the British domination of the textiles sold in India. From that point he was usually photographed with a basic implement called a ____ ____.
9. In 1930 Gandhiji led a 240 mile march to the sea. He was protesting the British tax on the food-related substance: ____.
10. In the protests he led Gandhi emphasized a) creative violence b) non-violence.
11. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, by the shores of the ______ Sea.
12. During WWII, 1939 - 1945, Gandhi was sympathetic to British war needs and ceased his protest work. T / F
13. Gandhi did not want to see India separated in 1947. Nonetheless the vast nation was partitioned. Muslims were given the new nations of ______ and _____.
14. Few leaders have effectively reached out to a chaotic society like Gandhi did in the 1930’s and 40’s. When all of his appeals failed he touched the masses of India by undertaking a personal ____.
15. His principal journey outside of India in search of freedom for India was to a home rule conference in _______.
Answers:
1. South Africa 2. British 3. Christian 4. legal, speech 5. Hindu
6. Hindu, Muslim 7. murdered 8. spinning wheel 9. salt
10. b) non-violence 11. Arabian Sea 12. False
13. Pakistan, Bangladesh 14. fast 15. London, England
October test / Israel & Arabia with answers
I s r a e l & A r a b i a / T r u d e a u
1. In Jerusalem this landmark lies south of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock as well as between them. a) Western Wall b) Via Dolorosa c) Citadel d) Damascus Gate.
2. He is thought of as the man who bridges the monotheistic religions: a) Jesus of Nazareth b) Abraham c) Prophet Muhammad d) King David.
3. This man is believed to have ascended into heaven from Jerusalem. a) Jesus of Nazareth b) Abraham c) Prophet Muhammad d) King David.
4. Unlike many of the world’s notable cities, Jerusalem is not located on a river. Over the centuries traders have had to depend on the city’s harbors on the Mediterranean Sea. T / F
5. Jerusalem is a city in which people observe _ sabbaths. a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5.
6. This region has been visited by the Holy Family, Lawrence of Arabia, Moses and numerous bandits: a) Negev Desert b) West Bank c) Nafud Desert d) Sinai Peninsula.
7. Syrup-soaked Middle Eastern pastry that is made from paper-thin sheets of phyllo dough and chopped nuts. a) Baklava b) Pita c) Hummus d) Tzatziki.
8. In Lawrence of Arabia the character Col. Brighton states why he thinks Great Britain is a great nation, though small in land, population and resources. It was a) Navy b) high-quality guns
c) brain power d) discipline.
9. In the desert the nomads make villages in dry canyons surrounded by rock walls. These places are called a) oases b) wadis c) dunes d) aquifers.
10. A permissible Jewish occupation in a Christian city:
a) usury b) slave trading c) scapegoat d) debtors.
11. Which of these sites is not a source but considered a portal, or entryway, into a world of sites referring to a particular topic? a) Yahoo.com b) Infoplease.com c) CIA.gov
d) Answers.com.
12. An exodus is similar to emigration, which is the same as a) dispersal b) immigration c) retribution d) extrication.
13. The pre-1948 name for today’s Israel: a) Palestine b) Lebanon c) Zion d) Ottoman Empire.
14. In chronological order: a) Judaism, Islam, Christianity
b) Christianity, Islam, Judaism c) Islam, Christianity, Judaism
d) Judaism, Christianity, Islam.
15. The Islamic feast of Rosh Hashanah is known as their New Year, or "head of the year," according to Wikipedia.org. No work may be done on Rosh Hashanah. T / F
16. What language has Lawrence learned, in addition to his mother tongue and French? a) Greek b) Arabic c) Hebrew d) Egyptian.
17. In Arabia there is a conflict between the tribal Bedouin peoples and the Turks. Their empire, which includes Arabia, is called the __ Empire.
a) Prussian b) Turkic c) Ottoman d) Egyptian.
18. In 1915 the top British priority in the Mid East was protection of a waterway important to their shipping and movement of warships.
a) Suez Canal b) Red Sea c) Arabian Sea d) Persian Gulf.
19. In the early 1900’s the city at the center of Islamic art, business and scholarship was not Mecca, nor Cairo. It was the capital of Syria. a) Damascus b) Beirut c) Medina d) Tel Aviv.
20. In the early phase of the movie Lawrence of Arabia the hero, TE Lawrence, resides in 3 nations. a) England, Egypt, Saudi Arabia b) England, Syria, Saudi Arabia c) England, Saudi Arabia, Israel d) England, Saudi Arabia, Iraq.
Israel & Arabia test / Trudeau / Answeroonies
1. a Western Wall
2. b Abraham
3. c Prophet Muhammad
4. f
5. b 3
6. d Sinai
7. a Baklava
8. d discipline
9. d wadis
10. a usury
11. a Yahoo
12. a dispersal
13. a Palestine
14. d J, C, I
15. F
16. b Arabic
17. c Ottoman
18. a Suez canal
19. a Damascus
20. a E, E, SA
China review and Essay skills
China review / geography / Trudeau
1. Most populous Chinese city: a) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
2. China’s southernmost city: ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
3. Once China’s capital was the city of Xian. Today its place has been taken by ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
4. City that is the site of the Buried Army of Shi Hung Di: ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
5. Known as the Huang river: a) Yellow b) Pearl c) Yangtze.
6. Known as the Chang river: a) Yellow b) Pearl c) Yangtze.
7. Not part of a peninsula: a) Korea b) Vietnam c) Taiwan d) Thailand.
8. The least-populated part of China: a) Tibet b) Mongolia c) East China Sea coast d) Yellow Sea region.
9. Not an ancient technological innovation of the Chinese: a) compass b) telescope c) paper d) gunpowder.
10. Multi-story tower: a) koi b) carp c) dalai lama d) pagoda.
11. The rate at which US students drop out of school is about 20%, says a schools policy institute. T / F
12. The world’s tallest building is the Taipei 101. It is in the earthquake-prone nation of a) China b) South Korea c) Malaysia d) Taiwan.
13. Differentiation between words in the Chinese language is based on a) vowels b) tones c) characters d) dialects.
14. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di, opposed the teachings of a) Buddha b) Yin & yang c) Confucius
d) Dalai Lama.
15. Maui is south of Oahu. T / F
16. Pearl Harbor is on the island of a) Kaui b) Honolulu c) Maui d) Oahu.
17. Not an archipelago: a) Afghanistan
b) Japan c) Philippines d) Indonesia.
18. Island on which you will find 3 nations: a) Borneo b) Hainan c) Taiwan d) Indonesia.
19. The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is almost exactly on the imaginary line known as the Tropic of Capricorn. T / F
20. Not a neighbor of China:
a) Kazakhstan b) Bangladesh c) Bhutan d) Laos.
21. The eastern regions of China are mountainous but the western regions lack mountains. T / F
22. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos:
a) Southeast Asia b) Indonesia c) East Asia d) Central Asia.
23. The population of Hawaii is about 4 times larger than that of Louisiana (pre-Katrina). T / F
24. The Great Wall was an attempt to defend China from the people of
a) Mongolia b) Indochina c) Japan d) India.
25. 20th century political leader who brought communism to one billion people: a) Mao Zedong b) Ho Chi Minh
c) Qin Shi Huang Di d) Sergey Brin.
***********
Essay skills -
Generalities to be followed by a specific statement:
1. The Vietnam war was lengthy.
- For the US it lasted from 1954 to 1973.
2. The Vietnam war resulted in many deaths among the young US soldiers.
- Some 60,000 were killed.
3. The US was helped in the Vietnam struggle by several allies.
- Canadian and Australian troops fought alongside us.
4. Ho Chi Minh had support from other communist nations.
- Russia and China sent weapons and gave other aid to the North Vietnamese during the war.
5. In 1954 Vietnam became a divided nation.
- The communists controlled North Vietnam; South Vietnam remained democratic.
6.Some 5 presidents presided over US troops being sent to Vietnam.
- They were Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
7. The Vietnam war became unpopular as the years went by.
- War protests peaked around 1968 with a demonstration in Washington, DC, that drew 250,000 marchers.
1. Most populous Chinese city: a) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
2. China’s southernmost city: ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
3. Once China’s capital was the city of Xian. Today its place has been taken by ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
4. City that is the site of the Buried Army of Shi Hung Di: ) Shanghai b) Hong Kong c) Beijing d) Xian.
5. Known as the Huang river: a) Yellow b) Pearl c) Yangtze.
6. Known as the Chang river: a) Yellow b) Pearl c) Yangtze.
7. Not part of a peninsula: a) Korea b) Vietnam c) Taiwan d) Thailand.
8. The least-populated part of China: a) Tibet b) Mongolia c) East China Sea coast d) Yellow Sea region.
9. Not an ancient technological innovation of the Chinese: a) compass b) telescope c) paper d) gunpowder.
10. Multi-story tower: a) koi b) carp c) dalai lama d) pagoda.
11. The rate at which US students drop out of school is about 20%, says a schools policy institute. T / F
12. The world’s tallest building is the Taipei 101. It is in the earthquake-prone nation of a) China b) South Korea c) Malaysia d) Taiwan.
13. Differentiation between words in the Chinese language is based on a) vowels b) tones c) characters d) dialects.
14. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di, opposed the teachings of a) Buddha b) Yin & yang c) Confucius
d) Dalai Lama.
15. Maui is south of Oahu. T / F
16. Pearl Harbor is on the island of a) Kaui b) Honolulu c) Maui d) Oahu.
17. Not an archipelago: a) Afghanistan
b) Japan c) Philippines d) Indonesia.
18. Island on which you will find 3 nations: a) Borneo b) Hainan c) Taiwan d) Indonesia.
19. The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is almost exactly on the imaginary line known as the Tropic of Capricorn. T / F
20. Not a neighbor of China:
a) Kazakhstan b) Bangladesh c) Bhutan d) Laos.
21. The eastern regions of China are mountainous but the western regions lack mountains. T / F
22. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos:
a) Southeast Asia b) Indonesia c) East Asia d) Central Asia.
23. The population of Hawaii is about 4 times larger than that of Louisiana (pre-Katrina). T / F
24. The Great Wall was an attempt to defend China from the people of
a) Mongolia b) Indochina c) Japan d) India.
25. 20th century political leader who brought communism to one billion people: a) Mao Zedong b) Ho Chi Minh
c) Qin Shi Huang Di d) Sergey Brin.
***********
Essay skills -
Generalities to be followed by a specific statement:
1. The Vietnam war was lengthy.
- For the US it lasted from 1954 to 1973.
2. The Vietnam war resulted in many deaths among the young US soldiers.
- Some 60,000 were killed.
3. The US was helped in the Vietnam struggle by several allies.
- Canadian and Australian troops fought alongside us.
4. Ho Chi Minh had support from other communist nations.
- Russia and China sent weapons and gave other aid to the North Vietnamese during the war.
5. In 1954 Vietnam became a divided nation.
- The communists controlled North Vietnam; South Vietnam remained democratic.
6.Some 5 presidents presided over US troops being sent to Vietnam.
- They were Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
7. The Vietnam war became unpopular as the years went by.
- War protests peaked around 1968 with a demonstration in Washington, DC, that drew 250,000 marchers.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Sem Exam: notes from Oct, Nov, Dec
Semester exam in geography -
- 100 multiple-choice questions beginning with notes in Oct and continuing through Dec.
- Open notes.
- Bring pencil (answers will be marked on Scantron sheets).
- Bring atlas and notes.
Also,
- a Brief Essay:
* Snappy title & explanatory subtitle.
* Colorful opening (description or quote).
* Documentation via "according to" near the end of the first paragraph.
* Original writing. No lengthy use of others' phrases.
* Generalities followed by specific examples.
Generality: US involvement in Vietnam continued over a long period.
Specific: US soldiers were there from 1954 to 1973.
- 100 multiple-choice questions beginning with notes in Oct and continuing through Dec.
- Open notes.
- Bring pencil (answers will be marked on Scantron sheets).
- Bring atlas and notes.
Also,
- a Brief Essay:
* Snappy title & explanatory subtitle.
* Colorful opening (description or quote).
* Documentation via "according to" near the end of the first paragraph.
* Original writing. No lengthy use of others' phrases.
* Generalities followed by specific examples.
Generality: US involvement in Vietnam continued over a long period.
Specific: US soldiers were there from 1954 to 1973.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The list of Chinese inventions is astounding to a Westerner
History of Chinese technology / Wikipedia.org
Among the scientific accomplishments of China were early seismological detectors,
matches,
paper,
dry docks,
sliding calipers,
the double-action piston pump,
cast iron,
the iron plough,
the multi-tube seed drill,
the wheelbarrow,
the suspension bridge,
the parachute,
natural gas as fuel,
the magnetic compass,
the raised-relief map,
the propeller,
the crossbow,
gunpowder and
printing.
Paper, printing, and gunpowder are celebrated in Chinese culture as the Four Great Inventions of ancient China.
Chinese astronomers were also among the first to record observations of a supernova.
One question that has been the subject of debate among historians has been why China did not develop a scientific revolution and why Chinese technology fell behind that of Europe. Many hypotheses have been proposed ranging from the cultural to the political and economic. Nathan Sivin has argued that China indeed had a scientific revolution in the 17th Century and that we are still far from understanding the scientific revolutions of the West and China in all their political, economic and social ramifications. John K. Fairbank argued that the Chinese political system was hostile to scientific progress.
More recent historians have questioned political and cultural explanations and have focused more on economic causes. Mark Elvin's high level equilibrium trap is one well-known example of this line of thought, as well as Kenneth Pomeranz' argument that resources from the New World were made crucial difference between European and Chinese development.
Chinese mathematics evolved independently from Greek mathematics and is therefore of great interest in the history of mathematics.
Chinese architecture project - apartments, farmers' house, Buddhist pagoda, nobleman's house
Students are constructing a Chinese community by assembling models of these basic housing types:
* apartment tower
* nobleman's traditional house
* farmer's thatched-roof house
* Buddhist pagoda
8 pts. when colored & assembled
The China map quiz was worth 13 pts (10 identifications plus 3 pts for borders) but students were able to add items so as to make up to 5 bonus pts.
* apartment tower
* nobleman's traditional house
* farmer's thatched-roof house
* Buddhist pagoda
8 pts. when colored & assembled
The China map quiz was worth 13 pts (10 identifications plus 3 pts for borders) but students were able to add items so as to make up to 5 bonus pts.
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Pekingese and the many breeds that originated in China
Here's my list of breeds that originated in China:
Sharpei
Chow
Lhasa
Pug
Pekingese
Can you add to the list?
Sharpei
Chow
Lhasa
Pug
Pekingese
Can you add to the list?
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