What factors influence whether a person acts or does not act to help when they see someone in need?
Are there cultures that aremore helpful than other cultures?
What are some of the motivations to help?
Now put that paper to the side and read the handout from Law et al 251-256 on social responsibility, prosocial behaviour and altruism and answer the following questions individually on a blog post:
What is the difference between altruism and prosocial behaviour?
Why do people help people?
Individually think of a situation in which you helped others, and analyse the reason/motivation for why you did it?
Part 2: In groups of two or three share your ideas for the brainstorming session and your answers to the handout questions. And finally explain the situation where you helped and your reasons, and see if there might be other reasons why someone might exhibit the same behaviour.
Lastly, we will watch the PBS video on children being naturally altruistic.
Discussion: What are the strengths and limitations of the study? Bring all your ideas and thoughts to tomorrow morning’s class.
What is the difference between risk and vulnerability?
What variables are used to measure the Saffir Simpson Scale?
How do they predict hurricanes? How accurate are they?
What are the main threats of a hurricane? Name 3
How can we predict hurricanes?
What factors make a population more vulnerable to hurricanes?
Discuss these issues with Katrina as a Case study
source: http://www.ready.gov/risk-assessment
Examine the relationships between the degree of risk posed by a hazard and the probability of a hazard event occurring, the predicted losses and a community’s preparedness for it.
Explain the reasons why individuals and communities often underestimate the probability of hazard events occurring.
Discuss the factors that determine an individual’s perception of the risk posed by hazards.
Exercise 1:
In your CS Hurricane CS notes, find the following values of a hurricane
Frequency
Duration
Areal Extent
Speed of onset
Spatial dispersion
Regularity
Exercise 2:
Image below: These are images showing sea surface temperature (left) and sea surface heights (right) from Augut 24th to the 29th. The dots indicate the location and intensity of Hurricane Katrina (circle data from the National Hurricane Center). Image credit: NOAA
Describe Katrina’s intensity and direction [3 + 3]
Describe the relationship between intensity and sea surface temperature [4]
Exercise 3: Risk: Exposure of people to a hazardous event
Based on your Bishop reading p. 13,14. Complete the following questions:
Define Risk [2]
Basing your observation on the Park model, evaluate the risk to hurricanes of the people of New Orleans in August 2005. [10]
Looking at twin studies and what they tell us. What conclusion can we make from studying twins? How does this relate to you?
Watch the following clip on twins separated at birth, then answer the following questions:
What unethical decision was responsible for the situation described in this video?
Can you think of situation when it might be justified to be unethical in the pursuit of scientific knowledge of genetics or evolution?
What is the most powerful evidence in this video that nature is more influential than nurture in explaining, predicting, or understanding human behavior?
Here is a more detailed video of the twin girls separated at birth. Summarize the findings of twin studies and what they can tell us about the nature vs. nurture debate.
Write a blog post answering the questions. Hyperlink it here
IB outcome: Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent famine.
The World Food Program requires 3 factors to be evident before a famine is declared: 1. At least 20 percent of the population has fewer than 2,100 calories of food a day;
2. Prevalence acute malnutrition must exceed 30 percent of children; and
3. The death rate must exceed two deaths per 10,000 people, or four child deaths per 10,000 people per day.
Temporary Hunger: A short term need for food, triggered by physiological responses caused by food deprivation.
Starvation/Chronic Hunger: A state of extreme hunger which results from a shortage of appropriate food for a prolonged period of time.
As you watch the video, take notes of the variety of causes of Famine in Ethiopia. Divide your answers in S.P.E.E.D. sections:
The famine of 2003 (to date) in Ethiopia was the worst famine since the mid-1980s. About one fifth of the population was left without food and tens of thousands of people died as a result of starvation and malnutrition.
In groups, complete a detailed case study for each of the following sub topics on Ethiopia’s Famine in the year 2000s to answer the following question:
Examine the variety of causes responsible for a recent famine.
You will present your findings in front of the class on Tuesday
Create a one page factsheet with all information, arguments and sources.
Be careful not to research the 1980’s famine.
Remember to focus all your answers on the impact of these factors on food security and famine
What is one possible explanation for the dominance of black athletes in sprint events? Why is this a dangerous and/or erroneous assumption to make?
Write a blogpost explaining your understanding of the Nature VS Nurture debate. Using examples, give your opinion on the theme. Is our behaviour dictated by our genes or our environment?
Using the Nature vs. Nurture (handout), read the arguments and then fill out the chart on the back, and check with your family tonight on whether or not they agree with you, and please bring your sheet completed to class on Friday November 27th, ready to discuss your answers.
With the use of an annotated graph, explain the formation of hurricanes [4]
Knowledge: How well informed were the people in the areas affected by Katrina about the hurricane risk? [4]
Knowledge: How did the level of knowledge vary between different demographic, political and socio-economic groups? [5]
Knowledge: How accurate were the predictions of the magnitude of Katrina? How did they achieve such predictions? [5]
Attitudes: Explain two different attitude of the people towards the hurricane risk? [2+2]
Attitudes: How did attitudes vary between different demographic, political and socio-economic groups? [3]
Practices: Did people act in the most appropriate way given their knowledge about the risk posed by hurricanes? [4]
Practices: How did actions vary between different demographic, political and socio-economic groups? [3]
How vulnerable are Americans to hurricane risk? What are the key factors that determine their vulnerability?(Attitude,Demographic profile, Socio-economic profile,Political leadership?) [6]
Using only an annotated sketch map, discuss the demographic and socio-economic factors that influenced vulnerability to Hurricane Katrina [4]
Coriolis effect
Wait! According to this, shouldn’t Hurricanes spin clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the souther?
Comment on the pattern, direction, magnitude, duration and spatial extent of hurricanes in 2008
IB outcome: Explain how changes in agricultural systems, scientific and technological innovations, the expansion of the area under agriculture and the growth of agribusiness have increased the availability of food in some areas, starting with the Green Revolution and continuing since.
Explain the reasons why people live in hazardous areas.
Discuss vulnerability as a function of demographic and socio-economic factors, and of a community’s preparedness and ability to deal with a hazard event when it occurs.
Explain the reasons for some sectors of a population being more vulnerable than others
Describe strategies designed to limit the damage from potential hazard events and disasters.
Discussion:
Why do people live in vulnerable areas?
Haiti: Stop at 8:00
Exercise 1:
Groups 1 and 2: 5 people/group
Create a 5 minte presentation with labeled diagrams for one of these earthquake event:
Include all your notes in the earthquake CS document.
3/11/11 Japanese earthquake
12/01/10 Haiti earthquake
Include:
Population size
population density
GNI per capta
HDI ranking
Early warning system in place
Government expenditures on hazard prevention and response
Building regulations
Map with fault zone and epicenter
Magnitude
Time of day
Duration
Areal extent
Speed of onset
Types of waves
Types of faults
Basic vocabulary
Describe the damage done in terms of:
Death toll
Injury
Insurance claim
ground shaking
liquefaction
Tsunamis
Landslides
Fires
Group 3: 2 people
Using the worldwide earthquake statistics from USGS.gov, calculate the average number of earthquake/year for each of the following categories, in the past three decades:
6 to 6.9
7 to 7.9
8+
Richter scale magnitude
80s avg/year
90s avg/year
00s avg/year
Magnitude 6-6.9
98
133
146
Magnitude 7-7.9
10.1
14.7
13
Magnitude 8+
0.4
0.6
1.3
Then, answer the following questions:
What conclusion can you gather from the calculations you have completed?
Can you predict the number of earthquakes that will happen in a given year? Decade?
How could you make more accurate predictions?
2. Find an article describing methods of earthquake prediction associated to 2 of the following. Describe the method and evaluate its efficiency in predicting earthquake events.
Seismicity
Changes in the ionosphere
Electromagnetic indicators
Unusual animal behavior
3: Explain the key principles of the Richter scale
You will present your response with with shared notes at the end of next class.
What risk factors of HIV and AIDS are identified ?
Would you consider yourself to be at risk from HIV and AIDS ?
What social factors do you think could increase the risk for people to contact HIV and AIDS?
What are the benefits of preventing AIDS?
What are the benefits of Treating AIDS?
Which one is more effective?
What factors made you decide?
HIV/AIDS prevention in Thailand:
As you watch the video, consider the geographic factors that influence policy‑makers in Thailand on prevention as opposed to treatment of HIV and AIDS.
