The Assignment: United Nations World Issues Reflection.

Yesterday, I learned a lot in Social Studies. All the presentations I heard really made me think about the problems our world is facing today, and how we can make the situation better. As far as the presentations were concerned, I thought that each and every group did a fantastic job, and that they really put a lot of thought into it. The speakers also spoke very clearly in order to make sure that the audience could make sense of what they were saying. I learned about various types of drugs, and how they affect the person who takes them. The transformation of a person when he or she takes drugs is unbelievably bad. I also gained knowledge about the various children’s rights. Children all over the world are suffering and their rights are not being taken in consideration. Over 110 million children are stopped from going to school, and over 50% of them are girl! I also found out about the Girl Child Network. This network is organized by the United Nations, and it helps many girls to go to school, for free. Although the presentations were extremely easy to understand, a few facts were really shocking! I learned that in some countries woman weren’t allowed to drive at all! I personally found this really shocking, as all the countries I have lived in allow woman to drive. To learn more about all of our class projects click here.

If I were to do this assignment again, I would change several things. For one, I would make sure that we didn’t face any technical errors. Our presentation included a few blank slides, which could have made the audience lose their focus from our iMovie. Also, I would make my iMovie more organized and add more pictures, as at some points it got too wordy! Lastly, I would prepare a better presentation, as all the “physical presenting” we did was introduce our project and ask if anyone had any questions!

To learn more about the United Nations and its projects click here.

Citation: “Volcano Could Burn Down Villages.” Children’s BBC. 12 Apr., 2007.  <http://news.bbc.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6540000/newsid_6547400/6547427.stm>. (12 Apr. 2007).

Author: Not Given.

Title of Article: “Volcano Could Burn Down Villages”

Website Title: Children’s BBC.

Date Published: Thursday, 12th April, 2007.

Website Address:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6540000/newsid_6547400/6547427.stm>

Date I looked at the site: (Thursday, 12th April, 2007).

In the country of Ecuador, South America, the terrible volcano erruptions has put many people’s lives in danger!

What is the issue?

The issue is, that the volcano Tungurahua, Ecuador has been shooting hot ash over 100 meters in the air after lava started coming out of its top, last month. Tungurahua is one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in the world, and has had three eruptions last year. As a matter of fact, the situation is so bad, that instead of studying, the children of the village are learning how to protect themselves from the volcano!

Who is involved?

The people involved, are mainly the people living on the upper as well as lower slopes of the volcano, as they have the maximum chance of losing their homes. Also, the people living near the volcano are involved, as if the eruption is immensely destructive, then they to have the risk of losing their homes.

Who is affected and how?

The people living on the upper and lower slopes of the volcano are affected, as they have to live carefully, and cannot go out, near the volcano very often, as they might get injured or even killed by the hot ash near it. To add to that, if the volcano actually erupts, then they will surely lose their homes, and worse, they might lose their lives. Also, the people living near the volcano are affected, as, if the eruption happens to be a very destructive one, then they to will lose their homes and perhaps their lives. Lastly, Ecuador as a country is affected, because, being afraid of getting injured by the volcano, most people must have stopped working. For this reason, Ecuador’s productivity rates must have dropped to a very low level.

What would I do if I were directly involved?

Unlike victims of other natural disasters, these people are lucky as they have not yet faced the disaster. If I had political power, then to make sure that the people living in the village near Tungurahua are safe, I would make an agreement with neighboring countries such as Colombia, Peru and Brazil. According to the agreement, whenever any of these countries is going through a natural disaster, they can come to one of its neighbors for shelter, food and water until the country has recovered from the disaster. Also, I would consult scientists who record the eruption cycles of volcanoes, in order to find out when the volcano is most likely to erupt. This would not only help the people currently living in the villages near Tungurahua, but also in the future, as whenever they are expecting an eruption, they can be cautious and they also have a place to live in until the country recovers from the disaster.

Picture 1:

http://www.honorearth.org/media/images/circle/southamerica/southamerica.jpg

Picture 2:

http://www.fuvirese.org/images/map_west.jpg

Picture 3:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/images/060817-volcano-ecuador_big.jpg

Initial blog posting: http://matilda.learnerblogs.org/2007/02/06/bird-flu/ 

Homework assignment: http://ssmeetsit.edublogs.org/calendar/ 

Citation

Author: Not given.

Title of Article: “Experts Hunt for Bird Flu source”

Website Title: Children’s BBC.

Date Published: Monday, February 05, 2007.

Website Address:

 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6330000/newsid_6330600/6330615.stm>

Date I looked at the site: (Thursday, February 08, 2007).

 What new information has emerged?

The new information that has emerged, is that not only 270 people have been infected, and 164 people have lost there lives, but also 160,000 birds have been put down, in order to prevent the disease from spreading. In the initial blog posting/article, experts had said, that bird flu cannot be easily spread from ordinary human to another ordinary human. In the recent article, however, experts from the United Nations have concluded that bird flu is not a human disease, it is a poultry disease. Also, for the past few years scientists have been trying to find out ways to cure this disease. Recently, scientists in the UK discovered that bird flu can be spread by the excreta of any bird. Discovering this critical information, can help the scientists, and research experts, who are trying to find a cure to this deadly poultry disease.

 What did you find interesting about this topic?

Unfortunately, there are numerous harmful diseases in the world. Each and every one of those diseases is harmful to each and every human. Bird flu, is not exactly similar to the rest. It is a poultry disease, and usually diseases that are not harmful to every single person, are not considered to be of much importance. Due to this, people are not very aware of Bird flu. This topic interested me, because it gave me a chance to learn about a poultry disease, that I’m not very familiar with. Also, by researching this topic I learnt about the source of the disease. Overall, I found this topic interesting, because it not only educated me on an important matter, but in addition it also told me about the source of the disease, which will help me in taking precautions against bird flu.

What did you like about the initial blog posting?

I thought that Matilda did a fine job in organizing her data, and making sure she had not spelling or grammatical errors. I also liked the way she answered all the questions, but I thought, that her answer to the last question was the best. Matilda answered the question as though she was one of the victims of the disease. She carefully evaluated the issue, and thought of the best possible way to resolve the issue. I feel that Matilda’s Current Event posting was a quintessential example of a well-written and accurate Current Event posting.

Mahera

Picture Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42534000/jpg/_42534121_farmgetty_416.jpg

Resources

Author: Not mentioned.

Title of article: “40,000 hit by Philippine mudslide”

Website title: Children’s BBC.

Date published: December 03, 2006.

Website address:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid6200000/newsid6203700/6203722.stm#top/article+citation>

Date I looked at the site:(December 06, 2006).

This is a picture of the impact the devastating mudslide left behind.

Picture source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42381000/jpg/_42381452_philippines_416.jpg 

A Map of Mount Mayon, Manilla where the mudslide took place.

Picture Source:

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41977000/gif/_41977314_phil_mount_mayon_2_203.gif 

What is the issue?

The issue is that a massive mudslide, caused by a storm in the Philippines has forced over 40,000 people out of their houses, and could have killed 1,000 people.

Who is involved?

The people involved are:

1.The 40,000 families, who have had to evacuate from their houses.

2.The people who are involved in the relief effort, which will help all the mudslide victims to get shelter and food as soon as possible.

Who is affected and how?

The people affected are the 40,000 people who have had to leave their homes, because now they have no place to live, and they can’t even take care of their families, as they don’t have a job, because the mudslide has also destroyed several rice fields.

The families and loved ones of the 406 people confirmed dead, because they have lost someone they love. If the person who passed away was the person who used to mainly earn money for the family, then the family would face all the more difficulties.

Also, the families of the 398 people missing are affected, because they don’t even know weather a family member of theirs is alive or not.

What would I do if I were directly involved?

If I was directly involved, I would probably make all the victims stay in the near by churches and schools, for the first few days. I would also strongly encourage the government of the Philippines to have a deal with neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan that whenever the countries will encounter natural or man-made disasters, they can go to their neighboring countries for shelter, for the time being. This would help the victims of the mudslide, but it would impact the lives of the people living in these countries in the future even more, because they would have a larger area and more sources to provide them aid, when they face natural and man-made disasters.

Mahera

Resources

Current Event posting: http://robbie.learnerblogs.org/2006/10/31/current-event/ 

Title of new article: “Curry for Arthritis”

Website title: Medical Breakthroughs

Date published: October 30, 2006

Website Address: < http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=14800 >

Date I looked at the site: ( Wednesday, 8 November, 2006 )

1.    What new information has emerged? 

 The new information emerged is, that the spice turmeric isn’t only used to prevent arthritis, but it is also used to block the destruction of joints due to arthritis, and prevent an increase in the cells that break down bones in joints. Turmeric can also cure acute and chronic cases of arthritis. Researchers at the University of Arizona have said that turmeric works the same way as the drugs that are currently being developed to cure the illness. The article I chose for my response also mentions, that over 40% of arthritis patients in the United States use complimentary and alternative medicines instead of the drugs, as most of them can cause dangerous side effects. 

2.    What did I find interesting about this topic? 

I found this topic very interesting, because we all know what a serious issue arthritis is in today’s world, because it does not allow people who suffer from the illness do things that every normal individual would want to do. To cure arthritis there are many operations available, but all of them cost a lot of money, and therefore are not convenient for people who cannot afford it. There is also always the danger of side effects, after the operations. No one could have ever imagined that such a serious illness can be cured, simply by eating the spice turmeric. Another interesting thing about this topic is the way the researchers tested the spice to see how it can cure arthritis. I personally found this topic interesting, because my own Grandmother suffers from acute arthritis

.3.  What did I like about the initial blog posting? 

After reading the article Robbie chose, I really liked the way he translated the entire story into his own words, without losing, or leaving out important points. I also liked his choice of article, as it is the most different from the rest, and it would be of great use to all the people suffering around the world from arthritis. Last but not the least I really liked the way he presented his Current Event. He was confident, and answered all the questions easily. Keep up the good work, Robbie!

Mahera 

The World Protests for Peace in Sudan

Citation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_5350000/newsid_5353900/5353942.stm
 

http://wwWorld protests for peace in Sudan w.worldbookonline.com/wb/Media?id=mp000219&st=sudan

Link: World protests for peace in Sudan

In this article I am going to tell you about an important current event in Sudan. 

The Map

Map Source: http://www.covafrica.org/sudan/map.jpg

The Picture

Picture Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42097000/jpg/_42097442_protest416pa.jpg
  

What is the issue?
 The issue is that:

·        The Arab-Africans of Sudan, who are a government supported group, are trying to kill all the Black-Africans of Sudan, because of their color.

·        The world is protesting for peace in Sudan.

Who is involved?
 The people that are involved are:
 

·       The protesters, who want the soldiers from the UN to come and control the fighting in Sudan.
 

·       The UN
 

·       The rebels
 

·       The Arab-Africans
 

·       The Black-Africans
 

·       The Sudan government
 

·       The experts, who think that the armed groups who are trying to stop the rebels are supported by

the government.
 

·       Major countries like the US and France.
 

Who is affected and how?

The people affected are: 

·        The 200,000 people who were killed in the fighting in Sudan because of their color, and their families.
 

·       The millions of people, who were forced to leave their homes, because of the fighting.
 
·       The Black-Africans, because the government is not doing anything for them, and are only doing things for the Arab-Africans.
 

What would I do if I was directly involved and in power?

I would persuade the government of Sudan, to let the soldiers from the UN come and control the fighting. I would also stop the government from supporting the Arab-Africans, who are doing something wrong, and make them help the Black-Africans, who are being ruthlessly killed by the Arab-Africans, because of their color.

Mahera 

Hey Ms. Nash and Ms. Cofino,

The link to the assignment:  http://ssmeetsit.edublogs.org/tag/block-d/

The article that I have chosen is on the following website:

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4790000/newsid_4793300/4793345.stm

The people affected, are the millions of children in the U.K, who suffer from domestic violence in their house.

 Domestic violence, prevents children from doing well in exams. Domestic violence causes children, to get a low image of themselves, get more aggresive and also face problems controlling their behavior.

These are the ways the children of the U.K, who suffer from domestic violence, are affected.

Mahera

                               Current Events
 

What I have learnt about current events so far are the following:

• Current Events, especially important current events should be an important part of history, even 10 years from now.
• Each and every current event, should affect, at least someone or the other.
• Current Events related to political happenings, would be more relevant, than celebrity gossip!

  To name a few

When we mention who all a current event or a series of current events affect, we must also mention how it has affected the victims, and what all damage has been caused.

We know whether a current event is important or not, if everybody is aware of it; for example, if Shakira’s new album came out, it would only be interesting to a few youngsters and teenagers, whereas if a bomb exploded in the U.S it would definitely be an interest EVERYBODY.

Not all current events are negative. There are also many positive current events such as, the agreement of a ceasefire between 2 countries, or new environmental policies etc.

These are all of the things I have learnt about current events in my Social Studies class.

Mahera