1. Hard lessons. (2007, September 22). Economist, 384( 8547), 58. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=14&sid=bdee229b-1425-4353-8c81-85cc892df458%40sessionmgr8
2. Seaton, E. (2007, May). Exposing the Invisible. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(3), 211-218. doi:10.1177/0743558407300345
3. Shapiro, S. (2007, July). Virginia Tech Education and a Culture of Death. Tikkun, 22(4), 56-59.Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=117&sid=bdee229b-1425-4353-8c81-85cc892df458%40sessionmgr8
4. Watkins, C., Mauthner, M., Hewitt, R., Epstein, D., & Leonard, D. (2007, February). School violence,school differences and school discourses. British Educational Research Journal, 33(1), 61-74. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=104&sid=bdee229b-1425-4353-8c81-85cc892df458%40sessionmgr8
5. Williams, K., Rivera, L., Neighbours, R., & Reznik, V. (2007). Youth Violence Prevention Comes of Age: Research, Training and Future Directions. Annual Review of Public Health, 28(1), 195-211. doi:10.1146/annurev.publheatth.28.021406.144111
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Effect on Biodiversity & Substantial Equivalence
There is a bacterium that is naturally toxic to certain beetles and insects. Scientists have taken the gene that produces the toxin in the bacterium and engineered it into potato and corn plants. Now the potato and corn plants produce the same toxin, so any of the beetles or insects that eat them are poisoned by the toxin in the potato and corn plants. As the plants produce their own insecticide, farmers do not need to spray them with conventional insecticide, with the result that there is less pesticide residue on these plants. In this sense, these GE plants are better for us. But they now contain a gene that produces toxins. Is this good for us?
As well as the target pests, many beneficial beetles and insects are killed. Monarch butterfly larvae died when they came into contact with pollen from GE corn. What will be the effect on beetles, mice, birds, etc. that eat the beetles and insects that have been poisoned by the toxin in the potatoes and corn? In other words, what will be the effect on the environment? Some fear that proliferation of GE crops may result in huge losses of biodiversity and all the dangers that entails.
The GE potatoes and GE corn just mentioned are meant to reduce the need for pesticide. Other plants are genetically engineered to withstand pesticide. A gene that is naturally resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has been inserted into canola. So a farmer can spray a field of GE canola with almost as much Roundup as he/she likes, and while the weeds will be killed, the canola will be unaffected. So herbicide-resistant GE crops may encourage farmers to use more pesticide. There would be more pesticide residue on these crops.
In some places, the bacteria needed for breaking down vegetable matter so that the soil is fertilized are being wiped out by excessive use of Roundup. The soil is becoming inert, and so much so that dead weeds do not rot.
When a farmer harvests a crop like soy, some falls on to the ground and may remain there till the following growing season, when it may grow spontaneously. If the farmer is growing a different crop, the soy is now unwanted, a weed, and the farmer may want to kill it with herbicide. Herbicide-resistant GE soy cannot be killed with ordinary herbicide and farmers in Argentina, for example, use a potent cocktail of different chemicals, including 2-4,D and, it is thought, Paraquat. This cocktail is causing environmental havoc. Some of the chemicals are blown by the wind on to neighboring fields, into streams and lakes, and on to people. It is causing skin blemishes on children, farm animals to be born deformed, bananas to sprout from the middle of the branch instead of the top, lakes filled with dead fish.
The biotechnology industry claims that genetic engineering is just like traditional breeding, i.e., GE plants are substantially equivalent to non-GE plants and, therefore, that they do not need any extra regulation. This is obviously misleading.
In traditional breeding, members of the same or very similar species are crossed to create offspring with some novel trait. This greatly limits the genes that can be combined. Furthermore, when different but similar species are crossed, their offspring are generally infertile, preventing inter-species gene combinations from propagating in the wild. For example, a donkey and a mare can make a mule, but the mule will be infertile, the end of the line for the combined genes.
Genetic engineering smashes these natural barriers. Using gene insertion, any gene from any plant, animal, bacterium, fungus or virus can be inserted into the DNA in reproductive cells of any other organism. If the resulting organism survives, it generally can pass on its altered DNA, along with and new traits, through normal reproduction. For example, genetic engineering enables scientists to create pigs which have human genes, genes which will be passed on to future generations.
So GE plants and animals are not substantially equivalent to non-GE varieties. But are they safe for us to eat? Do they need extra regulation?
There are indications that they may not be safe. An English scientist reported that rats fed GE potatoes developed cancerous tumors. The rats' brain size also decreased. The same scientist also fed GE tomatoes to rats. 7 out of 20 rats developed stomach lesions and died.
There are also problems within the Food and Drug Agency, the US agency with responsibility for regulating food. Because of inadequate legislation in the US, Monsanto's New Leaf Superior GE potato is not regulated. The potato has been genetically engineered to poison and kill the Colorado potato beetle. Because it produces its own toxin, the potato is registered as a pesticide. The FDA does not regulate the potato because it does not have authority to regulate pesticides. That is the Environment Protection Agency's job, but the EPA says the potato is a food.
The first GE crop to be commercialized, the Flavr Savr tomato, did not pass the required toxicological tests. Secret memoranda from the FDA reveal that the agency ignored warnings from its own senior scientists who pointed out that GE is risky. What is behind this situation? For one thing, there is a very close link between the biotechnology industry and the US government. The biotech industry has been well represented in President Bush's cabinet. Secretaries of Defence, Health, and Agriculture, the Attorney General and the chairperson of the House Agriculture Committee have had connections with Monsanto or the wider industry.
But would the manufacturer be irresponsible? Monsanto president has been quoted as saying, "Safety is the Government's responsibility."
So we do not know for sure if GE foods are safe. They may turn out to be harmful. There are many examples of new technologies hailed at first as great benefits to humankind, but later realized to be anything but a benefit. The effects of DDT were not known for decades. Likewise Thalidomide, which caused deformities in more than 100,000 babies. At the time of its approval in the EU and Canada, tests in laboratory animals showed no negative effects. Thalidomide's damage was revealed only over time, not in the drug's users, but in their children.
There is already at least one new disease linked to GE food. In 1989 eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) hit the US. 37 people died and 1,500 were permanently disabled. EMS was linked to the consumption of a dietary supplement called L-Tryptophan. The batch of L-Tryptophan implicated in the outbreak was traced to Showa Denko, which had recently introduced a new genetically engineered bacterium into its production process.
As well as the target pests, many beneficial beetles and insects are killed. Monarch butterfly larvae died when they came into contact with pollen from GE corn. What will be the effect on beetles, mice, birds, etc. that eat the beetles and insects that have been poisoned by the toxin in the potatoes and corn? In other words, what will be the effect on the environment? Some fear that proliferation of GE crops may result in huge losses of biodiversity and all the dangers that entails.
The GE potatoes and GE corn just mentioned are meant to reduce the need for pesticide. Other plants are genetically engineered to withstand pesticide. A gene that is naturally resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide has been inserted into canola. So a farmer can spray a field of GE canola with almost as much Roundup as he/she likes, and while the weeds will be killed, the canola will be unaffected. So herbicide-resistant GE crops may encourage farmers to use more pesticide. There would be more pesticide residue on these crops.
In some places, the bacteria needed for breaking down vegetable matter so that the soil is fertilized are being wiped out by excessive use of Roundup. The soil is becoming inert, and so much so that dead weeds do not rot.
When a farmer harvests a crop like soy, some falls on to the ground and may remain there till the following growing season, when it may grow spontaneously. If the farmer is growing a different crop, the soy is now unwanted, a weed, and the farmer may want to kill it with herbicide. Herbicide-resistant GE soy cannot be killed with ordinary herbicide and farmers in Argentina, for example, use a potent cocktail of different chemicals, including 2-4,D and, it is thought, Paraquat. This cocktail is causing environmental havoc. Some of the chemicals are blown by the wind on to neighboring fields, into streams and lakes, and on to people. It is causing skin blemishes on children, farm animals to be born deformed, bananas to sprout from the middle of the branch instead of the top, lakes filled with dead fish.
The biotechnology industry claims that genetic engineering is just like traditional breeding, i.e., GE plants are substantially equivalent to non-GE plants and, therefore, that they do not need any extra regulation. This is obviously misleading.
In traditional breeding, members of the same or very similar species are crossed to create offspring with some novel trait. This greatly limits the genes that can be combined. Furthermore, when different but similar species are crossed, their offspring are generally infertile, preventing inter-species gene combinations from propagating in the wild. For example, a donkey and a mare can make a mule, but the mule will be infertile, the end of the line for the combined genes.
Genetic engineering smashes these natural barriers. Using gene insertion, any gene from any plant, animal, bacterium, fungus or virus can be inserted into the DNA in reproductive cells of any other organism. If the resulting organism survives, it generally can pass on its altered DNA, along with and new traits, through normal reproduction. For example, genetic engineering enables scientists to create pigs which have human genes, genes which will be passed on to future generations.
So GE plants and animals are not substantially equivalent to non-GE varieties. But are they safe for us to eat? Do they need extra regulation?
There are indications that they may not be safe. An English scientist reported that rats fed GE potatoes developed cancerous tumors. The rats' brain size also decreased. The same scientist also fed GE tomatoes to rats. 7 out of 20 rats developed stomach lesions and died.
There are also problems within the Food and Drug Agency, the US agency with responsibility for regulating food. Because of inadequate legislation in the US, Monsanto's New Leaf Superior GE potato is not regulated. The potato has been genetically engineered to poison and kill the Colorado potato beetle. Because it produces its own toxin, the potato is registered as a pesticide. The FDA does not regulate the potato because it does not have authority to regulate pesticides. That is the Environment Protection Agency's job, but the EPA says the potato is a food.
The first GE crop to be commercialized, the Flavr Savr tomato, did not pass the required toxicological tests. Secret memoranda from the FDA reveal that the agency ignored warnings from its own senior scientists who pointed out that GE is risky. What is behind this situation? For one thing, there is a very close link between the biotechnology industry and the US government. The biotech industry has been well represented in President Bush's cabinet. Secretaries of Defence, Health, and Agriculture, the Attorney General and the chairperson of the House Agriculture Committee have had connections with Monsanto or the wider industry.
But would the manufacturer be irresponsible? Monsanto president has been quoted as saying, "Safety is the Government's responsibility."
So we do not know for sure if GE foods are safe. They may turn out to be harmful. There are many examples of new technologies hailed at first as great benefits to humankind, but later realized to be anything but a benefit. The effects of DDT were not known for decades. Likewise Thalidomide, which caused deformities in more than 100,000 babies. At the time of its approval in the EU and Canada, tests in laboratory animals showed no negative effects. Thalidomide's damage was revealed only over time, not in the drug's users, but in their children.
There is already at least one new disease linked to GE food. In 1989 eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) hit the US. 37 people died and 1,500 were permanently disabled. EMS was linked to the consumption of a dietary supplement called L-Tryptophan. The batch of L-Tryptophan implicated in the outbreak was traced to Showa Denko, which had recently introduced a new genetically engineered bacterium into its production process.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Discuss the case of “Martin”. What should the family do? What factors and values influenced your decision?
According to the fact that Martin's family doesn't have a lot of money. And I don't know whether his family have the healthy insurance which can afford Martin's medical expense. I think it is hard for them to make a decision, because they love him so much. But from the consequence of the decision I think they sholud let him die naturally. If Martin still had mental activity, I think he would do the smae decision. His family can not support medical expense is the master problem they face. If the government or the charity can support his family, without questions, they should kept him alive. Maybe someday the miracle happende that he just awaken by himself.
In other words...
Source: Leary, Kowalski, Smith, &Phillips(2003)
Among adults, a great deal of irritation and assult also appears to be caused by"real, perceived, or threatened rejection." Research on unrequited love shows that anger is a common response to having one's romantic wish obstructed (Buameister et al., 1993) , and both empirical and evidence from personal account suggest that people who are rejected often become angry and stike out at those who ignore them (Williams, 1997; Williams and Zurdo, 2001).
Certain individuals may be routinely rejected and disregarded by large segments of their peer groups. In many examples, being relegated to the surroundings of social life is neither malevolent nor designed, but rather the result of simple indifference. Individuals who are particularly shy or erratic, who posses unpleasant social characteristics, or who do not share other student's concerns may simply be ignored.
Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on classmates at Columbine High School using heavy weapons, then commited suicide. Killing 13 people(12 students, one teacher), and at least 21 people injured. The attack had been premediated for more than a year. Both students had been rejected, scoffed, and bullied by other students, particulary sportmans. In addition, Harris had been turned down from Marines a week before the attack and was refused by a girl whom he had asked to the prom.
Source: DAVID M. KENNEDY in a New york Times editoral
But the modern military's separation from American society is even more confusing. Since the time of the ancient Greeks through the American Revolutionary War and well into the 20th century, the duty to bear arms and the advantages of citizenship have been intimately linked. It was for the purpose of that link between service and a full place in society that the founders were so invested in militians and so concerned about standings armies, which Samuel Adams warned were "always dangerous to the liberties of the people."
The hints sre deeply startling: history's most powerful military force can now be put into the field by a society that do something without effort when it does so. We can now wage war while putting at risk very few of our sons and daughters, none of whom is obliged to serve. Modern warfare lays no viatl loads on the larger body of citizens in whose name war is being waged.
Sara Beale (2006)
This article debates that commercial pressures are deciding the the news media's contemporary remedy of crime and violence, and that the outcome coverage has played a major role in reshaping public impression, and ultimately, criminal justice policy. The news media are not mirrors, simply reflecting events in society. Furthermore, media content is molded by economic and marketing deliberations that frequently override traditional journalistical guage for newsworthiness.
Among adults, a great deal of irritation and assult also appears to be caused by"real, perceived, or threatened rejection." Research on unrequited love shows that anger is a common response to having one's romantic wish obstructed (Buameister et al., 1993) , and both empirical and evidence from personal account suggest that people who are rejected often become angry and stike out at those who ignore them (Williams, 1997; Williams and Zurdo, 2001).
Certain individuals may be routinely rejected and disregarded by large segments of their peer groups. In many examples, being relegated to the surroundings of social life is neither malevolent nor designed, but rather the result of simple indifference. Individuals who are particularly shy or erratic, who posses unpleasant social characteristics, or who do not share other student's concerns may simply be ignored.
Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on classmates at Columbine High School using heavy weapons, then commited suicide. Killing 13 people(12 students, one teacher), and at least 21 people injured. The attack had been premediated for more than a year. Both students had been rejected, scoffed, and bullied by other students, particulary sportmans. In addition, Harris had been turned down from Marines a week before the attack and was refused by a girl whom he had asked to the prom.
Source: DAVID M. KENNEDY in a New york Times editoral
But the modern military's separation from American society is even more confusing. Since the time of the ancient Greeks through the American Revolutionary War and well into the 20th century, the duty to bear arms and the advantages of citizenship have been intimately linked. It was for the purpose of that link between service and a full place in society that the founders were so invested in militians and so concerned about standings armies, which Samuel Adams warned were "always dangerous to the liberties of the people."
The hints sre deeply startling: history's most powerful military force can now be put into the field by a society that do something without effort when it does so. We can now wage war while putting at risk very few of our sons and daughters, none of whom is obliged to serve. Modern warfare lays no viatl loads on the larger body of citizens in whose name war is being waged.
Sara Beale (2006)
This article debates that commercial pressures are deciding the the news media's contemporary remedy of crime and violence, and that the outcome coverage has played a major role in reshaping public impression, and ultimately, criminal justice policy. The news media are not mirrors, simply reflecting events in society. Furthermore, media content is molded by economic and marketing deliberations that frequently override traditional journalistical guage for newsworthiness.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Many different people give their opinions about the question of whether prodigies are born or made
In my personal opinion, most prodigies are made by their parents, teachers, and living environment. There is a true example in one of my parent's good friend. She is just 15 years old, but she is just enrolled in the best physics school in Taiwan to earn her master degree. Her father is a CPA in a medium accounting firm. And her mother is an elementary school teacher. Therefore, her mother know how to give their childern a positive learning environment. Her father can afford enough money to support what they need in their growing period. In the school, she can listen and follow the teacher's instructions very successfully. When she came back home, she can have a very good comunication with her parent. At the mean time, she can get a positive respond or feedback when she give out a question. Therefore, she can think quickly and get the answer or solution she want immediately in her learning period. It is a great help for her to become a prodigy due to the nurture.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The day after tomorrow
The film described that the global warming causes large areas of the Greenland and Antarctic ice shelves to break off and melt, diluting the Atlantic Ocean with large amounts of fresh water. This disrupts the ocean's thermohaline circulation and slows the Gulf Stream, causing a rapid cooling of the northern hemisphere. This triggers a series of unusual and extreme weather incidents, eventually leading up to a massive "global superstorm" system consisting of three gigantic hurricane-like superstorms, which result in an ice age for the northern hemisphere within days. One hurricane-like storm is cover North America, one cover Europe, and the last one cover Russia. The film portrays the eye of the superstorms as having such a low pressure that extremely cold air from the upper troposphere is sucked downward, instantly freezing all who are caught in the eye. Throughout the movie, a subplot involves the refusal of the Vice President of the United States to accept the threat of global warming—despite increasingly extreme weather conditions occurring throughout the world—insisting that measures to prevent it will do too much damage to the economy. In the end of the film give us a big issue we taked about everday - global warming. Therefore, I think every big enterprise in it's industry should become a good model try to do something to curtail global warming.
Graph Showing Average Daily Use of D.C. Metro
The graphic shows that the average number of people daily use of D.C. Metro. We can see that from 6:00 the number increased sharply. To 8:00, the number get to the peak of the day. Then from 8:00 to 10:00, the number initially declined to the average level of the day. Pass 10:00, the number of people went up to the plateau situation. Until pass 14:00, the number of people dipped to the bottom at 16:00. Then the number went up suddendly to the second highest level at 18:00. Then the number went down again to a low level at 20:00. And from 20:00 to 22:00, the number of people remain steady low in the late night. Therefore, the graphic curve shows the daily rush hour are 8:00 in the morning when people have to get to work and 18:00 in the afternoon when people have to get home. But from 12:00 to 14:00, it is a big brake for most people to find out what to eat.
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