Daily 1 - Week 2

 You accidentally discover an invention that can immediately help millions of people; but only if you act immediately. On the other hand, if you just wait three months, you can secure a patent and get rich. Which do you choose and why?

I would choose to act immediately, in order to help millions of people. I believe that if you help one person or a million people, it's still better than becoming rich. I would feel guilty that I didn't help those certain people that needed help in those 3 months. Knowing that I had an invention, and I kept it to myself in order to become rich seems selfish and wrong. Also, I believe that once I started using my invention to help people, the government/ other people would pay to use my invention or pay me to help the people they knew that needed help. But, I feel as if the ultimate goal for me would be to help people and to make sure I made a difference in these peoples lives. Money can come and go, but knowing that you impacted peoples lives in a way that you truly helped them with something they needed. I'm sure more than half of the other people in the world would chose to wait those 3 months to get the patent and become rich, because the many people live in poverty. I'm not saying that it is wrong to choose that option either. But, I feel that since I would have helped millions of people, i don't need to happiness of money and material items that you can get from money. That is why I would choose to take my invention and use it immediately, instead of waiting 3 months to get a patent and become rich. 

Weekly 1

Weekly Assignment (100 points): Make an xtranormal dialogue explaining your personal theory of history. How is history best explained? Can you give an example story/anecodote to demonstrate how your theory of history works? Do you agree with one of the four theories of history we discussed in class? Or is yours unique?


http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11097689/

Daily: Will a "hypertext" world make us more accepting of cyclic history?

I think a hyper text world would make us less accepting of cyclic history because it shows that everything doesn't happen in a cycle and theres more details and branches involved than known. If hypertext were involved then many people would see that there are so many details and other subjects involved in one problem that it doesn't occur in a cycle. They would realize that one problem makes another happen, but it doesn't make a problem reoccur. I believe that a hypertext world would make people less accepting of cyclic history.

Daily: Don't our traditional forms of information communication, notably "the book" and especially "the textbook" contribute to our belief in linear history?

I believe that our belief in information communication such as books and text books contribute to our belief in linear history. Text books and books aren't updated on a regular basis and some might carry false information as the future continues. This causes people to believe that one major event causes another major event, without looking into the new found details and things that we find out every day about past problems. If we were to get rid of certain books and text books and switch to computer many people would stop believing in linear history so much and actually put little details together to look why another major problem happened, including the little problems in between.

Daily: Is modern life "always" better than it was in the past?

Modern life is better in the past, in some ways. Technology has been a big part of modern life. It helps find cures for diseases, keep in touch with people around the world, and makes our world a faster and more organized place. But, it also causes many problems for people. Many people spend their entire lives on technology and not on other important things in life. Also, technology is being shared amongst children, and they are being showed/treated too mature for their ages. In the past, people had simple lives and didn't have to worry about checking their email or blackberry's all the time. I believe that modern day technology tears many families apart and over-rules peoples lives. But, modern life has also helped us. Many countries are more organized and people around the world can bond using technology, in the right ways. Also, our governments and officials have easier ways to communicate and they can solve world wide problems 10x faster than they used to be able to. Modern life has helped people and changed people for the worse and the better.

Daily: Does history progress? Is an elephant really "better" than a mammoth?

In my opinion, history does progress in some ways. Between elephants and mammoths, history progressed in unique ways. Some people believe that elephants are better than a mammoth, and that is true, but only in some parts. There are certain parts of the mammoth that improved when they evolved into elephants. Elephants have longer trunks. Also, elephants don't have the hair that mammoths had. Elephants are also still alive, when mammoths are extinct. In many cases, the tusks of an elephant are also bigger than a mammoth's. An elephant's blood is cooler than a mammoth's, too. As you can see history can progress in many ways for different reasons, but just because history progresses doesn't mean that it changes everything. In Linear history, it shows all of history's event, practically like cause and effect. With Cyclic history, they believe that everything happens in a cycle, but history can progress in a cycle. In Hegelian history, it shows how two events cause another event to happen, which makes history progress. Finally, in Vortex history it shows that the littlest event can cause the biggest event in all of history, which is progression. History is able to progress, and in some ways an elephant is better than a mammoth.

Question 14 with Meredith Haggerty

1. We could use our computers for every class.
2. We could use online text books.
3. We could use our webcams to communicate with children our age in other countries.
4. We could do tests online.
5. We could do homework and projects online.
6. We could use calculators.
7. We could use our cell phones.
8. We could make our own search engine.
9. We could use smartboards.
10. We could make our own websites

Question 13

1. The UK was in the lead in the beginning because they were a world power. They had many industries, cities, and a huge population.
2. The U.S. passes the UK when it does because the U.S. had many immigrants coming over and we were building up our industry.
3. There was a drop in CO2 emissions in 1929 because of the Great Depression.
4. China enters the graph in 1917.
5. The US consumes more CO2 than China because we have bigger industries.
6. Trinidad and Tobago had an oil boom.
7. Luxembourg was the only city in Germany that wasn't affected by the war.
8. All the countries near the top of the chart are big in industries.

Question 12

1. The graph told us that the relationship between health expenditures and global health is that we barely spent any money on health but we have risen a little bit in the past few years. Also, many other countries spend a lot more money on health than we do, but they don't give it to all of their citizens.  

Question 11

1. Phnom Penh is about 145 sq mi approximately 142.2 times bigger than Bel Air, MD.
 http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=218014775767188765201.00049a5fca2769572ea25&t=h&z=8

Question 10

I believe the 3 most important topics mentioned are:

1. Energy security and climate change- I believe this is important because in order to keep our world in tact, beautiful, and working we need to make sure we take care of it the right way by conserving energy and being careful with how we affect the climate change.

Source 1

Source 2

2. An Open Global Economy- I believe this is important because in order for economic growth, and it will help all the countries become stronger and better in their economies and way of living.

Source 1

Source 2

3. Strengthening Support for the Most Vulnerable- I believe this is important because many children are being abused/uneducated if they need all the help they can get.

Source 1

Source 2

Question 9

1. The French president's position on fighting terrorism is that he wants to keep working together with the U.S. in fighting the terrorists, and he believes that the U.S. is France's ally.

Question 7

1. A regional food hub is a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regional produced food products. They are essential to sustainable agriculture and food distribution because all the farmers know where to drop off their crops and the people know exactly where their food came from.

Question 6

1. Climate change is caused by the green house effect.
2. Human activity is contributing to the climate change.
3. The climate is warming in some spots, and cooling in others.
4. The U.S. has been hit with massive blizzards for the past 2 years because the spots that were receiving all the precipitation have practically switched climates with the areas that weren't receiving precipitation as much.

Question 5

Question 4

4) There are so many different names for "soda pop" in New Mexico because it's a very diverse state. It has many different immigrants and it borders a foreign country.

Question 3

3. According to Korean Times, the most unfriendly city in the U.S. is Los Angeles.
http://www.koreatimes.com/article/639588

Question 1

1) The sudden dip occurred in 2001 on the "Overseas Arrival to the US" chart because the tragic terrorist attack of 9/11 happened. When the terrorist attack occurred, many immigrants didn't feel safe entering the U.S., so the Untied States had to make a change in the airport security. Statistics can help explain the significance of historic events because they show how much our country was truly affected and how our country has either improved or worsened since the event has happened. They can also help countries make changes in what they should do to improve their countries. Example: When HIV/AIDS was recognized, Africa's HIV/AIDS population went off the charts. This showed that Africa needs doctors, money, and help in their country. Without statistics, Africa would have never known about the huge HIV/AIDS break out in their country.

Wild Fires

Group: Meredith Haggerty & Kelly McCloskey

Interview with a Foreign Exchange Student

Interview with Kelly Seo YoungJin, Freshman from Korea


Q1: What was the purpose of moving to the United States?

A1: There are a lot of clubs and foreign languages I could learn. Also, it gave me a chance to work together with other people from different places. My family wanted me to see what it is like in other countries and give me the chance to work with American people.

Q2: How long have you lived here?

A2: I moved here on August 26^th, 2010. I’ve been here for 6 months. It’s been really awesome. I’ve been to a bunch of favorite places in America, and John Carroll has been a really great school!

Q3: What languages can you speak?

A3: I can speak English, Korean, and French. I’m better at French than English. English words never sound the way they are written! It makes things confusing, but fun!

Q4: What is your main language at home?

A4: The people I stay with speak Korean and English. We don’t really speak one language, we speak both. I like English a lot. It’s fun to read and speak, but French is my favorite.

Q5: What is different from American school work and Korean school work?

A5: In Korea, they didn’t give us much homework. Here, they give us homework every night. But, in Korea kids were always studying because we had a test in school every day. In America, we only have tests sometimes. But, I like having homework better than having a test every day. I think it helps me do better when we have a big test.

Q6: What part of Korea are you from?

A6: I am from Seoul Korea, I really liked it there but the United States isn’t that bad either.

Q7: What is your favorite part about living in the United States?

A7: I live in Bel Air and I really like it here. Everyone is nice and they are always trying to help me since it’s a little hard for me to understand and translate to people. I also like the family I am staying with. They are really supportive and help me.

Q8: What do you miss about Korea?

A8: I miss my dance teacher because he taught me how to dance well. But, he can dance better than me. I miss my friends, too. We hung out every day, but I get to hang out with my new friends here.

Q9: What is different from the United States and Korea?

A9: In Korea, any students wander the streets after school. Here, students go home or play sports. Also, students here don’t have a lot of time to hang out with friends because school gives us a lot of work. But, I don’t think the people here mind.

Q10: Were you comfortable with moving here?

A10: Yes. I was really excited to move here, too. I think it was fun to make new friends and to meet new people. It was a little hard leaving my friends back home, but I know I’ll see them again once day!

Q11: Do you like John Carroll? Why or why not?

A11: I like John Carroll. I got to meet my friends and exchange students just like me! Also, the teachers keep me after school to translate my work, and to help me understand my assignments better. John Carroll has been really helpful.

Q12: Was it easy for your parents to get jobs once they moved here?

A12: My parents don’t live in the United States. It was easier for them to stay in Korea and keep the jobs they have there. But, if they wanted to live here, I’m sure they could get jobs really easily. They are very smart people!

Q13: Does any of your family live in the U.S.?

A13: No, all of my family lives in Korea. I stay with a family while I’m here. They are really nice and fun to stay with. But, my family does visit sometimes to see how I’m doing. I miss them a lot, but I know I’ll see them soon hopefully.

Q14: Do you comfortable now that you have lived in the U.S. for a little while?

A14: Yes, I feel more comfortable. Everyone has been really nice and easy to work with. I stay after school and hang out with my friends, and the teachers are always trying to help me do my best and get good grades. I really like it here and I tell my friends in Korea they should try this!

Life as an Exchange Student in Yemen

                                                                                                                                     Jan. 6th, 2011
Dear Diary,    
     After spending one school year in Yemen, I've learned a lot about the teaching system and education compared to the United States.  When I walked into the school, it was fairly small. Not many kids attended, and the ones that did were mostly boys. Yemen also has a larger population of births per year, which would make people think that the schools would be larger, but unfortunately they are not. Also, a lot of the teaching staff didn't show up either. But, the few people that did show up learned and worked in poor conditions. The school supplies was also in poor conditions and they had no electricity, which isn't uncommon in Yemen. I found it hard to believe that anyone could learn in these conditions. Yemen can't even afford education for all of the children in the country. Most children have the opportunity to go to school from the age of 6-14. But, their families usually don't allow them/ don't make them go to school so they can stay home and work. The family I stayed with sent their children to school, but within the neighborhood I stayed in, many parents kept their children home to work. Even though the children stayed home and worked, it is still easier to get a job in the U.S. then in Yemen. Overall, I'm definitely glad I live in the U.S. instead of Yemen.
                                                                                                Love,
                                                                                                        Kelly

Yemen children in school.
Source

Yemen children working.
Source

Life in Yemen.
Source








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India vs. U.S

India

India is the second country with the largest population in the world. The capital of India is New Delhi, and the population is about 295,000. Overall, the population of India is 1, 173, 108, 018. The life expectancy of a person in India is about 67 years old. Hindi is the main language spoken, but there are also 300 other languages that are spoken in India. Their GPD is $1.367 trillion. Compared the the U.S., India has about 862,875,155 more people. Also, the U.S.'s capital population is 601,723, which is about double the amount of people in the capital of India. The median age of a person in the U.S. is about 78 years old, which is 11 years older than the 

life expectancy of a person in India. The main language of the U.S. is $14.256 trillion. As you can see, the U.S. has a much smaller population than India, but our nation seems to have many advantages over India.

Map of Top 10 Countries by Population & Capitals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
http://blog.babazeka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cows_street.jpg
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier/images/2001-03-20-women-a.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3346/3216831385_a16a12b013.jpg