Success Criteria for Searching Smart

- Don't get distracted
Try to focus on the research and not go off topic

- Make sure you note the source of information
When I am doing my research, I always forget to look at the source to check whether the information I am getting is reliable.

- To learn how to search effectively
I tend to get distracted from researching when I don't get the information that I need/am looking for.

- To understand a different type of searching
Learning different ways to research and to see what works for me

Aims & Rationale Reflection

AIMS
1) To successfully work as a group and complete the project.
- Make sure that all of the workload is evenly distributed
- Make sure all team members follows the time frame
- Make sure everyone knows exactly their roles and responsibilities
- Make sure everyone participates in all of the discussions and decision-making
- Make sure to record the minutes for every group meeting and decision made.
2) To raise awareness of deforestation, habitat loss, etc.
3) Educate the public on how our actions affects the whole world

RATIONALE
The realization that nothing is being done motivates us to raise more awareness on the severity of this issue. Furthermore, due to the deforestation in Malaysia for the palm oil plantations, it gives us a first-hand experience on how the society can neglect and just oversee the environment and how our actions are affecting it.

We got the idea to do our group project on climate change because of all the deforestation in Malaysia. Malaysia is a developing country that is constantly changing; a lot of Malaysia's forests are being cleared to make way for more plantations and buildings. For our aims we made sure a big part of it was making sure we worked well as a team because if we had a team that was not coordinated it would be very difficult to even complete the project. Having this criteria would help us work successfully as a team.

Gantt Charts

What is a Gantt Chart?
A gantt chart is a type of bar chart that helps to plan and organise a schedule for a project. It shows us how long it would take to complete a task, when we should complete it and when we can start it.

Why should we use it?
We should use a Gantt chart because it helps us to effectively plan how to complete a project. We can assign specific colour coded 'bars' to people so they can easily find out what they need to do. This would eliminate confusion. By properly arranging a Gantt chart we can figure out which tasks can be done simultaneously and which can only be done when another task is done. This will make sure we complete our project within the shortest time.

Tips for Using a Gantt Chart
- colour code the bars for each person in the group
- make sure each bar is labelled
- link the tasks together

Group Work Reflection

For the group project on peak oil we had to make a wiki page. Before that, we had to research and find relevant information relating to peak oil. We were given many links to different articles and videos; to make sure our group got all the information, we decided to split up them up. After each of us had gone through the allocated articles or videos we created a google document where we shared all our summarised information. This allowed us to exchange and even add on ideas to the existing points. We then catagorised the information into personal, local/national, global and future perspectives.

I think that we worked well together as a team. We managed to figure out how to carry out a task and distribute the workload. If any of the team members disagreed with something, we made sure to work it out.

Reflection : Independent Project

For my independent project I found that I did not have many problems finding information. I managed to find all the statistics, facts and articles that I needed. In the beginning, I found it difficult to come up with a key question because the topic of animal cruelty is very broad; in the end I managed to narrow my topic down to animal cruelty for clothing specifically leather and wool. I also found it difficult to clearly show the global, national and personal perspectives. After reviewing my essay, I found that I did have all the perspectives but I needed to make it clearer and explain it better. Another problem that I had was trying to make all my information as concise as possible to not exceed the word count. After I finished my essay, I found that I could have had more 'what if' scenarios, I decided to make a keynote presentation with situations and statistics to further explain my ideas.

Me As a Team Player

What do I think I am good at?
- Making sure everyone is contributing and working together
- Meeting deadlines
- Listening to other peoples opinions
- Being on time

What areas could I develop?
- Explaining my opinion and not just agreeing with the rest of team
- Giving Ideas

Our Team is...

A group of people who are able to work together without any conflicts or arguments. And we are also a group of people who have good teamwork.

The definition of teamwork:
Teamwork is when all the people contribute, communicate, are open to ideas and opinions and each have an equal amount of work.

Team expectations :
- To be able to create a successful end-product
- To be able to work efficiently and effectively together as a team
(contribution, time management etc...)
- To be able to find a way to make our sleep-a-thon successful

Multimedia Presentations : How We Can Use Them In Our Independant Projects

Multimedia presentations are a additional "thing" that we can add to our projects. Rather than just an essay it would be more interesting to create something else to go with the essay. Multimedia presentations can be very useful for our independent projects because they give a visual representation of what we are trying to say. Multimedia can be used in our independent projects but it needs to be backed up with an explanation. There are many different types of multimedia:
- Artefacts

• Diaries
• Sculptures
• Recipes
• Models

- Performances

• Skits
• Plays
• Songs
• Poems
  

- Visuals

• Posters
• Billboards
• Poems
• Videos
• Movies
• Animations
• Documentaries
  

- Audio

• Interviews
• Podcasts
• Songs

For example if I were to do a project about senior citizens I could make a diary account about what he/she thinks about how he/she is being treated. I could then back this up with a short essay further explaining the diary entry.

Leatherback Turtles

10 MAY 2011 PUTRAJAYA.
Endangered species are species which only has a few hundred or less left existing on Earth. Threatened species are species whose habitats are destroyed by humans, polluted or being hunted down.

Leatherback Turtles are the top 6 most endangered species. They are the largest marine turtle and are also migratory. They only go on land to lay eggs and live only in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The species in the Atlantic Ocean are very stable but the species in the Pacific Ocean are very endangered. Jellyfish, crabs and small fish are general diet of the Leatherback Turtles.

Leatherback Turtles are threatened by the loss of nesting and feeding habitats. Egg-collection, fishery-related mortality like nets and long lines of fishing, pollution and coastal development. Increasing mortality means fewer turtles which means that there are not enough to reproduce. This shortens the life cycle of the turtle. And less turtles existing over the past and future generations.

World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and Greenpeace are just some of the organizations that are helping to save the species. WWF Malaysia has a program that is helping to hatch the turtle eggs and safely release them back to sea. This is slowly increasing he population of Leatherback Turtles.

We should help the turtles! This is what we can do to help.
1. Do not buy souvenirs made from turtles.
2. Do not buy and create a demand for turtle eggs. Allow the eggs to be incubated naturally where laid.
3. Ensure rubbish is properly disposed of. Plastic bags floating in the ocean are often mistaken for food, and when eaten, may cause a turtle’s death.
4. Do not light up fires or make noise on a nesting beach. These activities may disturb a nesting turtle.
5. Avoid using illegal, non-turtle friendly fishing devices. A turtle caught in fishing gear may drown and die.
6. Support turtle conservation efforts and pass on the conservation message.

Modern Day Slavery

What is Human Trafficking?
It is recruiting, transporting and harboring a person against their will with force with the intention to exploit them.

What is Slavery?
Modern day slavery is when people are sold like objects and forced to work without receiving any pay. They are threatened with violence and are under the control of their 'master'.

Why are people being trafficked?
People around the world get trafficked because they think that they are going to get jobs for money. But, they in fact get forced into slavery.
Here is an article further explaining why people are getting trafficked : http://www.freetheslaves.net/Page.aspx?pid=301

What Makes Us Human?

I think what makes us human is our ability to have a range of feelings and still control them. Everyday we go through a bunch of different emotions and feelings. Very often our judgements and what we do is influenced by our feelings. When we are paranoid it is caused by our thoughts which are controlled by how we are feeling. Overall our emotions are a very important part of being human.

Reflection of Law and Criminality

Through this topic I learnt many things about the judicial system and punishment. At the beginning of the topic I did not really know anything about law, court, court systems or even the roles of the various people in court. So by being a researcher for the court case and having to help prepare for a trial, I had to become familiar with the various roles and understand what each is supposed to do. What I found difficult was trying to find evidence for the points that I had for the trial. The points that we had needed to be backed up with evidence for it to be relevant so that was difficult; to find statistics and evidence was not easy. I also had to make sure that the evidence that I found was reliable and not biased.

Court Case
Three things that the team did well leading up to the trial were :
- We managed to figure out who was best suited for each role very quickly. This was very good because it gave us more time to research and plan.
- While we were discussing and coming up with our main points, everyone gave their opinions and suggestions to the group.
- Everyone was very co-operative and did their part.

Three things that the team did well on the day of the trial were :
- We helped each other out.
- Everyone played their roles very well.
- Everyone knew what they needed to do and were very well prepared.

What I did well to prepare for the trial.
I help everyone to find the information, statistics and evidence they needed. I also summarised information to points that were used during the trial.

GP Team Work Target
Make sure that everyone is involved in discussions and meetings.

Personal Target
Research and get as much information as I can and evaluate it. Only use information that is relevant.

I think for this topic and the court case I did my best. But, I could next time only use information that is relevant and not everything I can find.

Death Penalty Arguements



For death penalty

View more documents from GP10.

For death penalty

View more documents from GP10.

12 Angry Men

Last Thursday, on the 18th of March we watched the movie "12 Angry Men". It is about a jury that is discussing whether to give someone the death penalty because he is accused of murder. In the beginning most of the jurors vote the accused guilty, but there was one juror who voted not guilty. The other jurors were confused as to why he voted not guilty because all the evidence seemed clear that it was the accused who committed the murder. When the one juror started analysing the evidence, it was found that the accused was not actually guilty of the murder.

The Stars of the Twelve Angry Men are :
Juror #1 - Martin Balsam
Juror #2 - John Fielder
Juror #3 - Lee J.Cobb
Juror #4 - E.G. Marshall
Juror #5 - Jack Klugman
Juror #6 -Edward Binns
Juror #7 - Jack Warden
Juror #8 - Henry Fonda
Juror #9 - Joseph Sweeny
Juror #10 - Ed Begly
Juror #11 - George Voscovek
Juror #12 - Robert Webber

My favourite part of the movie was the ending when the last juror who voted guilty, changed his mind. Throughout the whole 'discussion' he voted that the accused was guilty. He was infact influenced by his personal views and experiences. Many jurors are strongly influenced by personal experience and opinion. This is why when lawyers are argueing their case, they will find out more about the jurors and use examples that they can relate to to get their vote.

My favourite juror was the man who stood up for his views and did not back down. Although everyone was against him and was giving him a hard time, he did not give in to the pressure and in the end convinced everyone that the accused was not guilty of the murder charge. This proves that all evidence no matter how reliable it may seem should be analysed and examined to prevent someone from being wrongly charged.

Overall I think that the movie gave me a very good idea of how a jury works, what it is like and how much of a responsibility they have. It was also very interesting how most of the movie was just filmed in one room!

Cyberbullying Case Study

What follows is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real people, places or situations is purely coincidental.

Nazar, a Grade 9 student, transferred to a new school halfway through the semester. He had trouble making friends until he discovered the school’s Facebook network. Most of the other students on Facebook responded to his “friend” requests and he soon began to feel more included, and made friends with some of them at school as well.

After a while, though, Nazar noticed that his friends list was shrinking as people removed him from their friends lists. He was puzzled by this at first until one of his offline friends told him that Chong Wei, a Grade 11 student, had gotten angry at Nazar because he had seen Nazar talking to Linda, Chong Wei’s ex-girlfriend. Chong Wei had begun to pressure everyone he knew to remove Nazar and Linda from their friends lists on Facebook, and to ignore them at school as well.

One afternoon in the Library, Nazar got more and more angry at Chong Wei and his friends. Since he had finished his work for the period, he decided to start a Facebook group called “Why I Hate Chong Wei,” and he invited everyone still on his friends list to join it. It turned out that there were quite a few people at the school who did not like Chong Wei and his friends, and Nazar’s group grew quickly. Whenever the message traffic on the group slowed, Nazar would try to boost it by posting some shocking accusation about Chong Wei, such as suggesting that he had cheated on Linda or that he had hit her when they were dating (Linda was not involved in the group, and had never said any such thing).

Soon other members of the group started to make their own accusations and suggestions about Chong Wei, some even saying that Chong Wei should have water balloons thrown at him when he went up the main stairway. Nazar responded to that suggestion, saying rocks should be thrown instead.

After a few weeks, one of Chong Wei’s friends discovered the group and reported it to him. Chong Wei told his parents and they decided to report it to the principal and keep him out of school until things had been worked out, as well as to report what Nazar had done to the police.

The acts of cyberbullying in this case are
- pressuring people to "unfriend" and isolate someone
- starting a "group" to promote hate against someone
- making up rumours about someone
- suggesting hurting someone

I think that b0th of them were the perpetrator and the target at some point. In the beginning when Nazar was the target; Chong Wei was the perpetrator. But at the end, Chong Wei became the target and Nazar became the perpetrator. I think this shows that some situations can cause people to act a certain way all to defend themselves or get back at someone. In the beginning, I do not think that Nazar had any intention of hurting Chong Wei, but because Chong Wei was asking people to isolate Nazar, he had to do something about it. But, Nazar is also in the wrong for making up false stories about Chong Wei. I think that if I were in Nazar's position, I would definitely find another way to get Chong Wei's attention, instead of creating rumours I would try to talk to him about it, or maybe even talk to his friends about it. This way I would not be doing anything wrong. I do think that what Chong Wei did was cyberbullying as well. If I were Chong Wei, I would probably accuse Nazar of attempting to hurt me and cause me harm. If I were Chong Wei's parents, I would take advantage of the 'group' that Nazar created against Chong Wei and say that he is the victim. If I were a teacher finding out about this case, I would tell both Chong Wei and Nazar to stop hating each other. I do not think the police should be too involved but if they had to be, they should just give both of them a warning.

Although I do not personally think that there is or will be any cyberbullying in Nexus, I still have to consider what would be done if it were to happen. I think that everyone will be very supportive of the right thing to do.

Cyber Bullying

1 = Totally acceptable and appropriate

2 = Possibly wrong, but no action needs to be taken

3 = Wrong, and school authorities or Internet service providers should take action

4 = Wrong, and civil action could be taken by the target or the target’s parents

5 = Wrong, and criminal charges should be pressed

1.A student posts a negative review of a concert given by another student’s band. The review focuses on the band members’ skill as musicians and the quality of their music.

1

2. A student posts a story making fun of a teacher, suggesting that he is unqualified to teach. The teacher’s name is not used, but he is clearly recognizable to anyone who knows him.

3

3. A student uploads to YouTube a video of his band performing a song that makes fun of teachers. No specific teacher is named or is identifiable from the song.

2

4. A student writes a letter to the school administration stating that a teacher has used improper discipline in class.

1

5. A student finds that photos of her, which were taken by her (now ex) boyfriend have been uploaded to his Facebook page. Then they were copied and reproduced in many more places, including photo-sharing sites. Her ex-boyfriend says that he is not responsible for what was done with the photos after he uploaded them.

2

6. A teacher asks students in her class to help write holiday greetings in a variety of languages for the school’s Web site. Without the teacher’s knowledge, one of the students’ contributions is a false and insulting statement against another teacher.

3

7. During an instant messaging session with several participants, a student accuses her boyfriend of cheating on her.

1

8. A student creates a Web site in which she criticizes school policies and suggests that several teachers, whom she names, are overly strict in their discipline.

2

9. A student creates a Facebook group in which he states that one of his teachers is a space alien who is scheming to abduct students and take them to her home planet.

3

10. A teacher discovers that students are being pressured by a popular student to remove an unpopular student from their Facebook “friends” lists.

3

Witnesses

How reliable are your senses?

There are many things that can affect our senses. Some enhance the senses and some can distract the senses.

Senses can be enhanced by :

- drugs

- exercise

- chilli

- sleep

These things make us more aware of what is going on. For example after we eat or after we exercise we tend to be more alert therefore being able to realise more of what is going on. If we were to witness a crime when we are fully awake and aware of our suroundings, we are more likely to have seen exactly what happened and even remember the details of the criminal.

Our senses can also be easily distracted. For instance if someone were to be woken up by a burglar at night, it is quite likely that they are not going to remember the little details of the person because they were tired and not fully conscious. Sometimes people can even be mistaken and accuse a perfectly innocent person of something.

I think that eyewitness accounts should be taken seriously, but also analysed to see if it can be trusted. Things that should be taken into account are the state that the witness was in, also what time of the day it was.

The Death Penalty : For or Against?

There are many arguments for and against the death penalty.

For

- Justice (prevents vigilance)

- Deterrent

- safety

- Cheaper

- Prisoner cannot escape

Against

- Universal DHR

- Innocent

- Does not necessarily stop crime

- Encourages violent crime

I personally vote to retain the death penalty but get rid of the mandatory death sentence. Although I vote to keep the death penalty, I think that it should not be the first choice of punishment but rather the last resort.

Should Different Offences Be Given One Fixed Punishment?

We do not think that there should be one fixed punishment for different offences. Each crime is committed by someone for different reasons
There is a wide range of offences in this world, there should not be one fixed punishment for the different offences this is because some are severe and some are not. Also the range of people that do this crimes. and the reason why these people did it. Depends on why the person did it.
For Example, if someone who is hungry stole one bun from a bakery because he is starving and needs it for his live, I personally do not think he should be punished but instead should be helped. This person is perfectly innocent and is just trying to keep himself alive.
But if there someone who would steal a bun for the fun of it, that is an actual crime.

My Reflection on Visiting the Palace of Justice

Palace of Justice

The visit to the Palace of Justice was very interesting. I learnt a lot about the Judicial System of Malaysia. Before I did not know much about the law and the court systems or how it works, now I understand it better and know a lot more. During the question and answer session in the conference room, I found out many things about the death sentence in Malaysia. Apparently about 12 people get hanged a month! I never knew the scale of how many people were being sentenced to death in Malaysia. That was quite shocking but good to know.

It was also great experience to be able to witness a court in session. I got to see what happens in a court and learn about the seating arrangements and etiquette in the court room. It was very weird and a bit scary to see the cells where the criminals are detained. The cells are located at the back of the court room, the criminals would be there then brought to the court by the prison guards when they are called or needed.
I think everyone was very honored that we were the first school to visit and be allowed in to the courts. It was a good experience that I will remember.

Main Crimes/Offences in Malaysia

One of the big issues in Malaysia is baby abandonment. Many babies are found dumped in the garbage, in a mosque, in the river and even just by the roadside. This happens a lot because whenever a person conceives a baby without being married, she is scared and ashamed so when the baby is born, she ends up throwing away the baby.

This is an article from the Malaysia Crime Watch website.

31 May 2010
Kulaijaya

A newborn baby girl was found alive and had her umbilical cord still attached when she was left in a milk box at a bus stop along Jalan Air Hitam-Johor Baru near SMK Munsyi Abdullah yesterday morning. The baby died 30 minutes later at the Kulai Hospital after a passerby rushed her there.

40-year-old labourer Zulkifli Samsi, father of three, was nearby at 4:50am when he saw a man behaving suspiciously, left a box on the bus stop seat and took off in a Proton Wira vehicle.

When Zulkifli examined the contents of the box, he was surprised to find the baby with her fingers moving. Although he managed to rush the baby to the hospital, the doctors who received her said she was hardly breathing and pronounced her dead at 5:30am.

Kulaijaya police chief Zulkefly Yahya urged those with information on the baby or the man to contact the Kulaijaya district police headquarters at 07-6637222 or the Johor police hotline at 07-2212999.

This is just one of the many cases of people abandoning their babies. Teen pregnancy is one of the major contributing factors.

“Last year 392 births were recorded and of the total, 62 of those who delivered such babies were below 18 years. This year (July), 301 cases have been reported, of which 34 involved those under 18,” - the malaysian insider

This statistic gives more of an understanding to why this happens. Many of the reported cases are usually because of teen pregnancy. I think the reason why this happens is because of the lack of education in Malaysia. If more teenagers receive the proper education, then they will be better informed more aware of how to take care of themselves and also know what to do if they happen to become pregnant.

Even though it is a crime in Malaysia, many people still abandon their babies and it is very difficult to find out where the baby came from. Therefore the number of cases of baby abandonment in Malaysia is increasing.

Crime List

Offences List

(-) my vote / - group vote

• Shoplifting (6) 6
• Breaking into a car (3) 5
• Picking a fight (8) 8
• Drink driving (1,2) 2
• Driving under the influence of drugs (1,2) 1
• Solvent abuse (4) 4
• Urinating against a wall (9) 9
• Doing a paper round at the age of 11 (10) 10
• Shouting racist abuse (5) 3
• Being sold alcohol in a bar whilst under the age limit (7) 7

I found it not too easy to rate the offences myself because I was considering which would have the worst consequence and for some of the offences the consequences would be different for different people. It was not too difficult to agree on rating the offences because some of us had the same results and we agreed after we discussed. The offence that caused the most discussion was the offence of racist abuse. Some of us thought that racism is not that serious because it depended on how the victim took it. But, most of us thought that racism was close to the top of the list after driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In the end we agreed that racism should come after drunk driving. A few factors that need to be considered when looking at people's perceptions of crime and offences are where they live and how old they are.

Which of these are crimes?

I think that all of them are crimes except doing a paper round at the age of 11

Which of them, if any, are victimless?

I don't think any of them are victimless, because all of the offences have victims.

What kinds of punishments would you give to these offences?

Shoplifting - 2 months of prison

Breaking into a car - 6 months of prison

Picking a fight - fine

Drink driving - prison and a fine

Driving under the influence of drugs - prison and a fine

Solvent abuse - prison

Urinating against a wall - a fine

Doing a paper round at the age of 11 -

Racist abuse - Prison

Being sold alcohol when underage - prison and a fine

Repeat offenders should be given a heavier punishment than the one before.

Crime is an offense against the law. When you commit a crime you are disobeying the law. The victim of a crime can have different reactions. Some have no problem after experiencing a terrible crime, while others are affected by minor things.

Some Surprising Facts about Crime!

• You're 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA than in France

• If you're in Montserrat, watch your back! Nearly 1% of the population are police officers.

• Per capita, South Africa has the most assaults, rapes, and murders with firearms.

• Two-thirds of the world's executions occur in China.

• America puts many more of its citizens in prison than any other nation.

• Two-thirds of the world's kidnappings occur in Colombia.

• Venezuela is one of the happiest and most murderous places in the world.

• Russia has almost twice as many judges and magistrates as the United States. Meanwhile, the United Stateshas 8 times as much crime.

• In the Maldives, there are more than 2 jails for every 1000 people.

• One in every three Australians is a victim of crime.

• In pure number terms, more crimes are committed in America than in any other nation. The same goes forburglaries, car thefts, rapes and assaults.

• The United States puts 0.7 % of its population in Prison - a vastly higher percentage than any other nation.

• India’s criminal courts acquitted over a million defendants in 1999, more than the next 48 surveyed countries combined.

• Women make up more than 10% of the prison population in only six countries: Thailand, , Qatar, Paraguay,Costa Rica, and Singapore.

• People trust Swedes! Swedish companies are the world’s least-likely to be perceived as paying bribes.

• 84% of people in Finland feel that they are at a low risk of experiencing a burglary - but just look at how many burglaries they have!

Law & Criminality

To me, law can be many things. It can be a list of rules to maintain order, or even something to protect us and give us justice. Laws are necessary to keep things in order. If someone were to go against the law they will be punished for it. With that said, even though law is very important, it should not be too restricting and unfair. If a certain country were to have a thousand laws restricting their citizens, they would not care or respect the law anymore. Also, it is only right that the person enforcing the law should also obey the law.

Here are a few quotes that support my view on law.

• If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for law - Winston Churchill
• An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. - Mahatma Ghandi
• The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest in justice. - Benjamin Franklin
• Law and justice are not always the same. - Gloria Steinem
• No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not as a favour. - Theodore Rosevelt

Feedback

What is feedback and why is it important?
Feedback is a comment or reaction to someones work. Feedback is important because it gives a person an idea of someone else's opinion. Whenever we finish our work we usually think it is really good because we created it, but other people may think that there are areas that could be improved or changed. Feedback is also good because it helps us with our learning. If someone gives us good feedback with a suggestion on how we could improve it and we do go back and change it, we would end up with a good piece of work.

Good and Bad Feedback
Impacts of Good and Bad Feedback
If you give someone a comment like "Interesting!", the person who receives the comment will not benefit or actually get anything from it. But if you add what you thought was interesting, then the person will know exactly what you are trying to say. The same goes if you have a negative comment. Everybody's work has mistakes and could be improved, so if you want to tell them that they have something that needs to be corrected or changed then be specific and tell them exactly what needs to be changed.