Blackfish

During today’s documentary day we are going to watch and respond to a few documentaries…

What did you think about Blackfish?

Do you think animals should be kept in captivity?

What does this film about Whales in the USA have to do with Vancouver since the Vancouver Aquarium closed their Orca tank in 2001 after public scrutiny

Dr. Jane Goodall’s entire letter to the Vancouver Park Board:

Dear Park Board Chairman and Commissioners,

The capture, breeding and keeping of cetaceans world-wide has come under increasing public scrutiny due to recent high-profile stories being released from industry insiders. The scientific community is also responding to the captivity of these highly social and intelligent species as we now know more than ever, about the complex environments such species require to thrive and achieve good welfare. Those of us who have had the fortunate opportunity to study wild animals in their natural settings where family, community structure and communication form a foundation for these animals’ existence, know the implications of captivity on such species.

I understand the Vancouver Park Board and the Vancouver Aquarium became industry leaders in 1996, when an agreement was made to not allow the keeping of cetaceans caught from the wild after September 16th of that year (with the exception of endangered species or rehabilitation animals that could not be released). However, the current permission of Vancouver Aquarium cetacean breeding programs on-site, and at SeaWorld with belugas on loan, is no longer defensible by science. This is demonstrated by the high mortality rates evident in these breeding programs and by the ongoing use of these animals in interactive shows as entertainment.

The idea that certain cetaceans “do better” in captivity than others is also misleading, as belugas, dolphins and porpoises are highly social animals which can travel in large pods and migrate long distances. In captivity, these highly vocal and complex communicators are forced to live in a low-sensory environment, which is unable to fully meet the needs of their physical and emotional worlds.

As society at large and the scientific community now reflect on the keeping of highly cognitive species like primates, elephants, and cetaceans in entertainment and research, I ask the Vancouver Park Board and the Vancouver Aquarium to do the same. The phasing out of such cetacean programs is the natural progression of human-kind’s evolving view of our non-human animal kin. I hope the Vancouver Park Board and the Vancouver Aquarium will be a leader in compassionate conservation on this issue, as you have done before.

Sincerely,

Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE

Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute &

UN Messenger of Peace

Read more: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/jane-goodall-urges-vancouver-aquarium-to-end-cetacean-captivity-1.1840324#ixzz34LXIoOwF

FEMALE: Body Image and Media

Images of female bodies are everywhere, with women and girls – and their body parts – selling everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if you can just lose those last twenty pounds, you will have it all: the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.

Why are these impossible standards of beauty being imposed on girls, the majority of whom look nothing like the models that are being presented to them? The causes, some analysts say, are economic: by presenting a physical ideal that is difficult to achieve and maintain the cosmetic and diet industries are assured continual growth and profits. (It’s estimated that the diet industry alone brings in $60 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss, [1] with 80 per cent of dieters regaining their lost weight.) [2] Marketers know that girls and women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids, and a whole media industry has developed around fuelling body dissatisfaction.

These messages are so powerful and widespread in our culture that they affect girls long before they are exposed to fashion or beauty ads or magazines: three-year-olds already prefer game pieces that depict thin people over those representing heavier ones, [3] while by age seven girls are able to identify something they would like to change about their appearance. [4] These attitudes only get more powerful as girls get older. In one survey nearly half of nine- to twelve-year-old girls said they wanted to be thinner and had either been on a diet or were aware of the concept of dieting. [5]

The effects of exposure to these images go beyond influencing girls to buy diet and beauty products. Research links exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies to depression, loss of self-esteem and unhealthy eating habits in girls and young women: in one study half of girls ages 16-21 said they would undergo surgery to improve their bodies. [6] Poor body image may have even more serious consequences as well: a 2009 study found that girls who were unhappy with their bodies – whether they were genuinely overweight or not – were significantly more at risk for attempting suicide. [7]

Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight.” [8] The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells “ordinary” girls that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected.

Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real girls’ bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many girls internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry’s standards. This focus on beauty and desirability “effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate.” [9]

Given the serious potential consequences, it is essential that girls and young women develop a critical understanding of the constructed nature of media representations of women’s bodies and the reasons why these images are perpetuated. More importantly, they need to be empowered to challenge these representations and advocate for more realistic representations. Because girls’ exposure to these messages starts so young, it is also vital that this education starts at an early age.

——————————————————————————–

[1] The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market. Marketdata, May 2011.
[2] Priya Sumithran, Luke A. Prendergast, Elizabeth Delbridge, Katrina Purcell, Arthur Shulkes, Adamandia Kriketos, Joseph Proietto. Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365 (17): 1597 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1105816
[3] (Harriger, J.A., Calogero, R.M., Witherington, D.C., & Smith J.E. (2010). Body size stereotyping and internalization of the thin-ideal in preschool-age girls. Sex Roles, 63, 609-620. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9868-1)
[4] Girl Guiding UK. Girls Attitude Survey. 2009.
[5] Clark, L. & Tiggemann, M., 2006. Appearance culture in nine- to 12-year-old girls: media and peer influences on body dissatisfaction. Social Development, 15(4), 628-643.
[6] Girl Guiding UK. Girls Attitude Survey. 2009.
[7] Overweight status, self-perception, and suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Dhaval Dave and Inas Rashad. Soc Sci Med 68(9):1685-91 (2009) PMID 19297063)
[8] Kilbourne, Jean. Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. Touchstone, 2000.
[9] Ibid.

SOURCE: http://mediasmarts.ca/body-image/body-image-girls

Late Middle Ages Video Project

Today in class we split into small groups of 3-4 and picked a section of the Late Middle Ages to research and represent:

1) Women in the Late Middle Ages

2) The Church

3) The 100 Years War

4) Joan of Arc

You and your group have the rest of the week to research, storyboard, film and edit the video.

Videos are no more than 3 minutes… challenge yourself to present the most important information to the audience. Look at the Horrible Histories videos for inspiration

 

Mind Map due date reminder!!!

just a reminder that your chapter one Early Middle Ages: Mind Maps are due at the beginning of class on Monday!

Europe

What is…..?

What is a veda? (L)
What is Sikhism and Codified? (K + C)
Why pierce female infants ears? (L + J)
What is the symbolism of the lotus flower? (V)

Kudos – Final Island Projects

Oranjee Island

Stile Island

Banapple Island

Lavandula Island

Pacific Island

Atlantis Island

Parisio Island

Pad Island

Skull Island

2013 Music Mashup

MORE info on the Small Group Inquiry

– Feel free to highlight one specific city in your physical region to hone in on the annual temperatures and climate
– Use whatever means you like to present your information (Prezi, Powerpoint, Instagram, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, etc)
– Your presentation doesn’t have to electronic it could be a handout, brochure, pamphlete etc
– Post your research and links under the region post on the blog

Marking:
– the information presented in your presentation will be marked out of a total of 40 (divided amongst the categories on the Inquiry sheet)
– the presentation will be marked according to the rubric we created in class:

1) public speaking (all group members involved in the presentation)
– eye contact
– volume
– not reading off notes
– “Obama” factor /5

2) Presentation format
– original
– creative
– spelling and grammar checked and corrected /5

3) Use of blog and technology in class in an effective, on-task and on-topic manner that displays and understanding and appreciation for the role of technology in learning and conveying information /10

Presentation total /20

TOTAL /60

The Cordillera

Post your findings and links here

Cordillera

http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/ict/2learn/kdwajda/canada/studentwork/cordillera.htm
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/phillie/InternationalExchange/Canada/Physical%20Regions/Physical_Regions/cordillera.htm

i barely found anything on these websites but i did find one thing or two.. so ill post it
Christine was stressed out because the computer was not working. Luckily, she started drawing a map for our presentation.

Vegetation

Moist wet sidedrier side less rain

Moist side

Douglas fir, Red Cedar, and Hemlock

Evergreen trees are very healthy and grow very large

Mountain top trees are small and very few

Drier side takes a long time for trees to grow because of the lack of rain fewer trees

http://wcordillera.blogspot.ca/

Topography Drum Heller Alberta (in the Cordillera)

Hoodoos

Topography Drum Heller Alberta (in the Cordillera)

Hoodoos

Weird rock these are called hoodoos they are formed by wind erosion over thousands of years ago. Dino bones are found here. Unique topography. Mostly barren terrain that includes grasslands, hoodoos, canyons and coulees, the area provides a special landscape that is worthy of discovery.