Hi, I'm Sully. I went to school at Monsters University and my major is Communications. My friend Mike and I are going to be talking about interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication can be described as symbols used to stand for ideas in order to make up meaning and create a bond with other people [1]. Just like the conversation you could have with your classmate who sits next to you, say "hi!" Saying hi is a symbol that greets or starts a conversation. Your classmate would receive this message and say "hi" back. Most commonly in interpersonal communication, it is two people talking face-to-face. This can be described as a dyad. When my best friend Mike and I are talking and shaking hands and talking to each other, you could consider this dyadic communication, because we are just two monsters having a chat!
Mike and I are introducing ourselves using the transactional
model of communication.
As Mike and I are talking we are exchanging symbols which each us of are interpreting and then relaying a message back to the other. In the picture to the right, I am introducing myself while reaching out my hand. Mike is receiving the message, introducing himself back and sending a message back to me. This can be described as the transactional model of communication. Two people are sending messages back and forth, almost like passing notes with words and pictures. We attach meaning to these symbols which we make sense of in our heads to add into the conversation. The things we choose to add to the conversation should follow the social rules. Social rules can be described as a list of rules to follow in a conversation that prevent you from saying things that do not belong in the conversation[1]. If you have conversation with your friend about something serious you are going to want your friend to react the right way. If they start dancing a laughing, this is breaking the social rules.
You wouldn't want your friend to start dancing if you needed to talk about something serious!
Sometimes you communicate without even talking! How you ask? It's called nonverbal communication. This can be defined as communicating through your actions [1]. Have you ever heard the phrase "actions speak louder than words?" It's true! One way our nonverbal communication can be expressed is through body language. This can be crossing your arms when you're angry, biting your nails when nervous or even tilting your head when you're confused, like Boo down below!
Boo is tilting her head to symbolize that she is confused
Interpersonal Communication is important because we use it everyday. You'll find yourself communicating symbols, verbally or nonverbally! Most commonly in a dyad conversation, following the social rules to become a better communicator and maybe end up like me as a Communications Major!
Have you ever gone on vacation to the beach and seen trash, oil, or other debris in the water? If not, you're quite lucky! Although most of our country's trash ends up recycled or in landfills, the world's oceans also see a lot of waste.
When trash and other unwanted objects end up in the oceans, they become a part of MARINE POLLUTION
WhatIs MarinePollution?
Marine Pollution is when humans choose to dump trash and other toxic waste into the ocean, resulting in harm to the ocean and its fishy residents. These materials often result in the deaths of many sea creatures and their homes, called ecosystems. These materials range from plastics and rubber to oil and chemicals. Yuck!
HowSevereIsIt?
Figure 1: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (5)
Just because we don't often see trash at the beach, does not mean it isn't there. It might seem crazy to think about, but 88% of the ocean's surface is covered with trash (7)! This area is usually found in the middle of the oceans and along the water's current. In fact, in the Pacific Ocean there is a clump of trash called the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" that is now 3 times the size of France (5), as seen above in FIGURE 1! And because a lot of these items are larger in size, it will take a long time for them to decompose, meaning that they can stay in the ocean for HUNDREDS of years! WhoGetsHurt? Marine pollution doesn't just affect the quality of the water. In fact, it affects the plants and animals who interact with the water! To start, seaweed and other single-celled plants make up a group called algae. And these algae experience damage while growing, resulting in them becoming toxic algal blooms (8) and deadly to fish that live near it! Our sea creature pals are also at risk due to marine pollution. Following the laws of the food chain, fish tend to eat other fish. That's how nature works! But, what these fish dont know is that they can be eating food exposed to these toxins. As the chain gets higher and higher, these other sea creatures get sick and often die due to the toxins in their systems (8).
Figure 2: A Sea Turtle in Danger (6)
Plastics and other debris also kill animals because like humans, animals often get confused too. However, when these animals get confused, they end up mistaking the trash for food and try to eat it (8). This sadly often results in the deaths of thousands of fish, sea-turtles, and dolphins (Figure 2)!
WhatCanYouDoToHelp?
Luckily for our oceans, YOU can HELP! The trash already in the patch is far too vast to clean up. According to one study, it would cost billions and billions of dollars just to clean up 1% of the patch (4). But save your money! You can help our oceans by preventing further trash from being dumped into the water.
So, next time trash day comes around in your neighborhood, stop and make sure to recycle all available materials, and double check that your trash is going to safe disposal plant in order to ensure a cleaner ocean. After all, the dolphins, like Danny below, need our help!!
Figure 3: Danny needs your help! (1)
A bigger recycling bin equals a brighter ocean in the future!
1. DOLPHINS. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.solarnavigator.net/dolphins.htm
2. Gasperik, D. (2013, October 03). Marine Pollution: 5 Lessons Learned This Year. Retrieved from https://www.theinertia.com/environment/marine-pollution-5-lessons-learned-this-year/
3. National Geographic. (2010, April 27). 10 Things You Can Do to Save the Ocean. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/take-action/10-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-ocean/#close
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2012, July 12). How much would it cost to clean up the pacific garbage patches. Retrieved from https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/how-much-would-it-cost-clean-pacific-garbage-patches.html
5. Shah, S. (2018, April 23). World's first ocean plastic-cleaning machine to gobble up Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved from https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/6119743/worlds-first-ocean-plastic-cleaning-machine-to-gobble-up-great-pacific-garbage-patch/
6. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Huge! Can We Clean It Up? (2018, March 30). Retrieved from https://blueocean.net/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-is-huge-can-we-clean-it-up/
7. Walia, A. (2014, July 07). New study finds 88 percent of earth's ocean surface now polluted with plastic trash. Retrieved from http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/07/new-study-finds-88-percent-of-earths-ocean-surface-now-polluted-with-plastic-trash/
8. World Wildlife Foundation. (n.d.). Marine problems: pollution. Retrieved from http:// wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/pollution/
Everyone wants to have the newest technology and the nicest clothes. The newest Xbox and PlayStation can be found in almost any house in America, and almost everyone has a piece of Nike clothing. The companies that make these products use a technique called outsourcing to make these products more affordable. Outsourcing is when companies receive finished or semi finished products from an outside company instead of making the product in house (Dolgui and Proth).
A company like Microsoft, (the producer of Xbox), uses companies from China to produce parts and operating systems for their products. These parts and pieces are then sent back to American to be put together and shipped to stores. Large tech companies also use other smaller companies to produce and develop games to use on their consoles. An example of this is Epic Games, the producer of the incredibly popular game Fortnite. Fortnite was developed by Epic then brought to larger companies like Microsoft and Sony to use on their devices. Companies use outsourcing for more than just toys too. Nike and Under Armour design the coolest new clothes in the United States then send the designs to countries like China and Taiwan to be made. When these companies use outsourcing techniques it saves the company money which means when you go to the store to get the newest games or clothing it is at a more affordable price.
When companies outsource they then have the money to make their products more advanced. Microsoft is always looking for ways to make their devices faster and better for the user. Technology experts are brought in from outside companies to help make advancements on their products. Clothing companies do the same general thing. Nike is constantly trying to make their shoes and clothing lighter and more durable. This can be achieved by using materials and expertise from outside companies. This process makes a better overall product for the consumer.
References:
Dolgui, A. & Proth, J.M. (2013)Outsourcing: Definitions and analysis. International Journal of Production Research,51(23), 6769-6777. DO1: 10.1080/00207543.2013.855338
In school you use paper every day. Whether it is for note taking purposes, class work that your teacher gives you, notes to your friends or crush, or even for art class. You might even find yourself wasting paper in class writing down thoughts or just simple doodles. When you get home from school you might have work left to do for the following school day. All this homework that is assigned to you is on paper. If you pay attention you may notice that several things you use in your everyday life outside of school is made out of paper as well.
Have you ever thought about where this paper has come from?
Figure 1: paper mill
Paper is made out of the wood that comes from trees. Thetreesget cut down and then sent to a paper mill (Figure 1) where several variations of paper products are made. These products could range from plates, pencils, construction paper, to the paper in your notebooks. All these trees are available for these products because of deforestation. Deforestation is act of cutting down trees to make room for other users. Trees are cut down all the time for a lot of reasons. We remove large areas of trees to make room for more living space, shopping centers, and the farming industry. Our population is constantly growing and it will always be growing larger so that means we will always need to make more room for living space. Since our population is growing constantly that means we will also always need room for farming space and shopping centers. Farms take up a lot of space because there needs to be room for the cattle to live and room for the crops to be planted and grown. This is all sort of a domino effect, since there needs to be more room for farms there needs to be more shopping centers to get the food products from the farm to your kitchen table.
Can you think of the natural causes of deforestation?
Figure 2: forest fire
.Some natural causes of deforestation are forest fires (Figure 2) caused by dry seasons and lighting. Yes, I said lighting. When there is a thunderstorm the lighting from it will strike a tree causing it to die and catch on fire making the trees surrounding it to become on fire too. When a dry season happens it causes the trees to have a shortage of the water that it needs to survive. The trees then can become so dry that they catch on fire from the sunlight.
What happens to the animals when their home is taken from them?
When an area of land is deforested it causes animals and their homes to be affected. The animals are forced to migrate due to their natural habitat being affected. Then they are forced to migrate, they effect the other animals living in the area they migrated to as well. This causes over population of animals in an area. Which then can force certain species to face a major population decrease because the animals in that area will have to fight to survive.
Figure 3: recycling plant
Is there anything you can do to help?
The answer is yes! One way you can help out is taking all your old papers from school along with any other paper and putting it into the recycling bin. Then you can take it to the recycling plant (Figure 3) with your parents where it will get sent away to get busted down and made into new paper. Another way you can help is taking part in Earth Day. Earth Day is a day dedicated to planting different variations of plants. Don't forget you can plant plants and recycle any and every day of the year, it doesn't have to be Earth Day just for you to help the planet!
Deforestation Almost everyone knows who Toucan Sam is, the Froot Loop loving bird from tv (figure 1). But did you know that his family members are losing their homes? I know this is sad, but it is true. His family lives in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil way up high in the tree tops. But something is happening to all the trees, they are starting to disappear. The reason why this is happening is because of deforestation.
Figure 1
What is deforestation?
Deforestation is when people cut down large amounts of trees to use the land or trees for something else. Most of the time it is some big company that comes along and chops down all the trees so they could use the land to build a factory or other type of building. Although, land is not the only reason the people do this. Another reason they do it will use the trees to make paper or anything that is made from wood. Just take a look around your house, there are so many items that are made from wood. If you look in the books in your local library you will see all the paper from the forest fills them up. Even your house itself is most likely made from wood that came from trees. They will also do this is so they can use the land for its natural resources. Once the trees are gone they will mine into the earth and retrieve minerals such as coal or iron. I know that hearing all of this makes you think that deforestation is not a problem, but an important part of our way of life. That's because it is important, the problem is people doing it too much.
Why It is Bad
Deforestation may be helpful to us humans, but not so much for the animals. For many animals, trees are their homes. It would be like you coming home from school one day and seeing that someone has knock down your house and everyone else's house in the whole neighborhood. That is what it is like for the animals when people cut down trees. For some animals, this can be very dangerous. Tress provide protection from predators. So without trees, they are like sitting ducks, literally. Its not just animals that are affected by this, humans are too. Trees give off the oxygen that we breath and absorb the carbon dioxide that we exhale. So if all the tress are gone, it would not just be taking away the animals homes, but the air we breath as well.
Figure 2
The Amazon Rainforest
One of the main places that deforestation occurs is in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest has one of the largest amounts of plant and animal life living in it. One of those animals are Toucans. For those of you who do not know what Toucans are, they are tropical birds with larges beaks that usually have colorful stripes or designs on them (figure 2). Toucans like to make their homes in holes in the trees. Making their home in a tall strong tree might seem like the safest spot for a bird to live, but not always. Even the biggest strongest trees are no match for humans with their axes and saws. When this happens the Toucans are forced out of their home and must fend for themselves in the wild. Without a home, the birds are much more likely to be eaten up by predators or die.
What Can Be Done?
Now that you are a little more informed about deforestation, you see that their are both positives and negatives to cutting down trees. It might help with our daily lives, but it have an even greater negative impact in the long run. If people don't realize this and slow down the chopping, there might not be any trees left. There is not much to do, but hope that the next generation is smart enough to use the forest for its resources, but still understand its importance. If that happens, Toucan Sam and his family might have a chance after all.
There was a time in the past when the government was allowed to tell people who could and who could not have children. The eugenics movement was the act of the government forcibly sterilizing mentally disabled individuals because they were unsure of how to properly treat them and their specific disabilities (3). If you are confused as to what sterilization is, read further. Sterilization is the medical process of making a person unable to have children. Imagine if your parents were told they were not allowed to have you because the government wasn't sure they could handle you. As seen in figure 1 it is obvious that the United States was trying to show the people that it is best for the population if mentally disabled patients could not have babies by giving statistics about cost and how often people are born. Just like you believe the information that your teachers give you when learning in the classroom, the people in America in the past believed the information the government was giving to be true because there was no reason not to.
Eugenics In Germany
I am sure that you have been taught about the Holocaust and the horrible things that Adolf Hitler and the Nazi's did to the people of Germany during that time, but one of the things you may not have been taught is that eugenics was also used during this time. One of the ways that Hitler decided to treat the people he did not want to be part of the population in Germany was to use eugenics and sterilize them, so they could not make any more humans that were like them (2). What if someone told you that because you had brown hair rather than blonde you weren't allowed to eat at lunch during the school day? This, along with other factors such as religion or race, was the kind of criteria that Hitler and the Nazi's used as a basis for making it impossible for a group of people to have children.
Eugenics Today
As hard as it might be to believe in your world today there are different forms of eugenics affecting people nationwide. One of the ways that it happens is through a process called genetic counseling. In genetic counseling, couples who are looking to start a family meet with a counselor to talk about the chance of having a child with a disability due to their genetic makeup. People believe this to be a form of eugenics because following the counseling couples move on to use doctors that create embryos, or cells that will turn into a baby. Occasionally the embryo ends up being one with a genetic disorder. Sometimes when the couple learns that their baby has a genetic disorder they choose to stop the pregnancy. Critics of genetic counseling view this as eugenics because they are choosing to only have a baby that is not mentally or genetically disabled just like the government forced couples to do in the past (1).
Figure 2: Comparison of White Supremacy to Nazi Germany
Another way that eugenics is believed to be present in the world today is through the white supremacist movement. The white supremacist movement involves groups of people who think other races, especially the black population, is not a fit population to be present in the country. It is believed that this can eventually lead to another surge of eugenics in the country in order to try and push out the black population. Imagine if you or some of your friends were never born because of the skin color of your parents. An even more real situation would be if in the future you or people you know were told they cannot have children because they are black and the white supremacists have taken over. This becoming a reality may seem like it is completely irrational, but don't you think people alive during the Holocaust thought the same thing? As seen in figure 2 people are beginning to relate the Holocaust to the white supremacy movement happening now. This could be your future and you should be aware of everything happening in the world. To see a video about the comparison of history to eugenics in the world today follow this link.
References
1. Bernal, L., Miguel, R., Bejarno, B., & Jose, R. (2018). Is genetic counseling a form of eugenics?. Revista Ciencias de la Salud, 16(1) 10-26. doi: 10.12804/revistas.urosaria.edu.co/revsalud/a.6475
2. Grodin, M. A., Kelly, J. I., &Miller, e. L. (2018). The Nazi physicians as leaders in eugenics and "euthanasia": lessons for today. American Journal of Public Health, 108(1), 53-57. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304120
3. Stern, A. M. (2001). Eugenic nation: Vol. 17. Faults and frontiers of better breeding in modern America. California: University of California Press.
Have you ever wondered how farmers grow so many fruits and vegetables so quick? Or ever wondered how there's so much milk in the super markets? Well farmers get to use this cool method called PRECISION AGRICULTURE to help them grow a lot of fruits and vegetables and bring a whole bunch of milk to super markets. But the coolest part is that they use PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY, also known as ROBOTS, to do all of this work quickly and put as much fruits, vegetables and milk in the store. That's where I come in. My name is Jax and I'm a precision agriculture robot. I'm a robot in training so I can't do all the cool stuff that my friends can do but I'll show you how they work while we go through the farm.
Cool Types of Farming Robots Other robots don't look like me because we all have our own jobs; just like how humans have jobs but they're not all the same humans and they all don't have the same job. Some of us work on the ground or cropswhere the fruits and vegetables grow. The FIELD ROBOTSdo most of the GROUNDwork, so they help in planting the seeds in the ground and harvesting, which is picking the fruits and vegetables that are ready to eat. While planting and harvesting, these robots take data from the crops by taking the crop's measurements and checking their hydration level to see if they need more water or not. The farmer takes the data to know which crops are good and which are not.
Figure 2: Friend Optimus Prime
The most famous ground robots and the biggest robots farmers use are tractors. These tractors are AUTOMATEDwhich means that they are able to work all by themselves. Similar to how my friend Optimus Prime work, they don't need a human inside to drive them. AUTONOMOUS TRACTORS have the same job as the smaller robots but they work on much larger fields such as corn fields, which plays a big role in precision agriculture because it allows farmers grow a lot of crops very quick.
Figure 3: Veera the Drone
The other type of precision agriculture technology are AERIAL ROBOTS, also known as DRONES. Drones also help farmers feed the crops but they also take data of the crops and livestock from taking picture and videos of the crops and livestock. My friend Veera in Figure 3 watches over the farmer's livestock, which are the animals in a farm, whenever the farmer can not watch o ver them.Farmers can see if there are any predators or thieves around and get help to protect their crops and livestock. In other words, drones checks the status of the farm kinda like how dogs were once used to guard the cows and sheeps.
Why are They Important...?
Figure 4: Avery and Avril the Automomous twin Tractors
Robots that works on farms help farmers in many many ways. Ground robots that works on the field are like doctors; before they work on their patients, they have to know what is going and know how they are able to help them. Ground robots takes data of the plants before they work on them to see if they are sick or if they need food. They feed them and take the data to the farmers so that the farmers know which plants are good enough to be in the supermarket. This gives farmers more "hands" on the field which means more help and better cared fruits and vegetables in the store. Autonomous robots are great on larger fields like corn fields because they work in bigger sections. Because they work in larger sections, farmers can carry large amounts of crops probably the size of your room back to the farmhouse. In figure 4 of autonomous tractors, my twin friends Avery and Avril pick up LARGE amount of grain WITHOUT STOPPING because once one tractor cut the grain they grind it and put it in a container in the other tractor and keep going until the container is full. This saves time for farmers and allows them to make more crops in a short period of time. Drones are the eyes of the farm and keeps the farmers updated on what's going on. It's important to have them because farmers can't watch the entire farm all by himself and they certainly can't run around the farm the entire day... they'll get tired. Precision agriculture robots do a lot of work on the farm and really help our farmers. Well I hope you enjoyed looking at the cool parts of a farm and enjoyed me as your guide of Precision Agriculture Technology. I think drones are SUPER DUPER COOLbecause they get to fly all over the farm and it's so awesome. Which one is your favorite Precision Agriculture Robot?
References: Grose. T.K. (2015). Next green revolution. American society for engineering education. 25(4). 28-31. Need doi Crow, J.M. (2012). Down on the robofarm. New scientist. 216(2888). 42-45. Need doi
Thomas, J. (2017). Automating the farm. New internationalist,(507),24-25. Need doi.
Where you are standing right now, a tree may have been standing there at one point in time. Have you ever gone to a park in your town before and seen all the tall growing trees? Odds are those trees used to have a lot more neighbors. See, the thing is, where ever humans settle down, they take up room and trees can get in the way of that. Humans need a lot of room where ever they go. Think about places you go through out the week. For example, like the grocery store, or the bank, or even school. You need those places around you in order to live and grow up. Sadly, in order to have all those necessities we need to clear trees and use land to do so.
What is Deforestation?
People cut down trees for multiple reasons, but they do so to make use of the land. This process is known as deforestation. Some people will clear the trees just for the trees themselves while others will use the land underneath the forest for other purposes. Pennsylvania used to be completely covered in forest until the number of people here started to increase and cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia started to expand. Most likely, there was a forest where your house sits now,whether you live in the country, a town, or a city.
Building Homes
Have you ever looked around your house and saw a little patch of trees or a mountain along the edge of town? If so, then your house was probably a factor of deforestation. Trees are cut down all the time to make room for buildings and areas for people to live. Where ever you live right now there probably use to be a forest there seeing as how Pennsylvania use to be covered in forests. They used this land for houses and other living areas like developments. The woods are a great spot to put homes because it provides scenery and shade for a house, making it more enjoyable. Who doesn't like a couple trees to climb in the back yard or trees to hang tire swings off of? The number of people in the world keeps growing so we continuously need to make room for them. Therefore we continue to expand and build new homes and developments to fit everybody in need of a home.
Farming Land
Another reason for deforestation is for farming. A lot of the food that we eat is farmed and it is important that we keep our growing population fed. However, there is not enough land to provide food for all the people. So forest are cleared to provide room for farms to grow crops and other resources that you see in the grocery store. Trees get cut down to make room for huge farm lands to grow these crops, and the soil from the forest is very good and healthy for those crops. Farmers also need lots of room to raise livestock like chickens and cows. If you like eggs for breakfast and a glass of milk, then you need room to raise the livestock. Also, with this fertile soil, it can be used to grow resources like Palm trees that produce palm oil. Palm trees grow in very exotic places usually, but the soil of a forest can provide a palm tree with just enough nutrition to grow. These farm lands are needed to provide us with food and resources we need to survive.
Going to the Market
Of course, we need room for our grocery stores like Weis and other stores like Toys R Us. Construction of road ways and buildings can be a huge cause of deforestation. Anything from huge skyscrapers in big cities to little sub shops in Montoursville need room to be built. New buildings are always being built and to do so there must be land cleared. Once you build one store in a certain area it tends to draw more and more stores from all over. There must be a million McDonald's on the planet because they are all over the place where I live. After putting together all the buildings in a town and taking up all that room, there needs to be a road or highway that connects all the towns since we drive in cars rather than swinging from trees like monkeys. Those road ways can be bent but sometimes you cant always avoid a forest of trees.
Cutting Deeper
How many people still cut wood to heat their houses? Well, that wood comes from a tree, and I am sure that the tree needed to be cut down for you to collect firewood. Tree are the number one source for fire wood, in fact, they are the only source. People use wood stoves or pellet stoves that use wood to heat their houses and make campfires out of, along with other products like paper that you use to write on. Wood can also be used to build structures like buildings and bridges. The majority of homes that are being built today are built primarily out of wood. Wood provides the world with a lot of resources that allow us to live.
Lets Talk Trees
Trees get cut down everyday for many different uses and reasons. Trees are cut down to provide room for farming and raising live stock. Also to clear room for houses, buildings, and road ways to be built. There are multiple resources that trees can provide but sadly we need to cut them down to retrieve those resources ranging from fire wood to paper. Lots of those reasons for deforestation are necessities and others, perhaps, could be avoided. However, if there is no need to cut down trees then you should leave them be and instead grab you parents and build a rope swing.
