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Alpha vs Beta Group Class Activity

In class, we had an activity where the class was separated into two groups. One being the Alpha Group (my group) and the other was the Beta Group. Each group was put into separate rooms and given instructions about their culture. In my group, we were told about the importance of children and physical contact as it was the focal point behind the interaction. The children were the leaders in conversation and initiated people into the conversation by a touch on the shoulder. Failure to follow these rules would result in penalties and even total exclusion from the group. Playing the chip game was less about winning chips but more about the interaction itself. In the Beta group, it was completely different. Where we valued physical interaction they were more focused on trade and personal gain. As a scout, I went into their culture completely blind to their customs and had to learn through trial and error. I quickly learned their language relied on the repetition of cert...
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Urban Garden Experience in Detroit

Over Thanksgiving, I had the incredible opportunity to visit an Urban Garden in Detroit. In a city with a metropolitan area stretching over 100 square miles its fairly easy to see the problems that the Detroit Metro Area makes a rather large heat island in the United States. A great way to reduce that heat island is by the process of creating Urban Gardens. I was fortunate enough over the Thanksgiving break to visit such a garden in Southfield, Michigan. Over a cup of tea, I was invited to the house of my grandmother's friend for her to show me their own small Urban Garden. The garden was on top of a roof of a very modern home, included with its own irrigation system and little ecosystem. The garden itself was no greater than 12 meters x 15 meters however it was still quite an impressive piece of architecture for such a home. On the opposite end of the house, they also include solar panels and their own garden where they grow vegetables. Overall, this experience ...
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Why was Pandemic chosen as a class activity?

The class activity was chosen on purpose to teach us a lesson on cooperation and give an insight as to how pandemics are fought across the world. The goal of the activity was to teach us that in order to solve global conflicts it's necessary to pool resources together. During the activity, we pooled our resources to find a cure in South America and Asia by pooling our cards together and collectively worked on stopping certain diseases. The previous lecture on Organization helped us establish a process and better communication which allowed us to coordinate so well. In conclusion, the game was quite enjoyable as it allowed us to co-operate in order to work together to help save the world from epidemics. It taught us to work well in teams.
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The Great Population Question

Do you agree with the statement, “Without reducing rapid population growth, it will be impossible to solve the world’s global challenges?” I agree with this statement to a great extent. The truth is many of the world global challenges both social and environmental can be attributed to the growing population problem. The African and Asian continent is the most culpable to the world problems. Partly the reason is that most if not all of the countries within the continent are developing countries. Therefore the population distribution is that of a triangle whereas the European and North American counterparts represent a rectangle. If the world continues to carry on this way, in our lifetime it will be impossible to solve the worlds global issues due to the fact we cannot control the world's population. The only solution, however, is aggressive modernization, economic reform and heavy investment in the availability in contraceptives in the developing parts of the ...
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Pollution: Solving Deforestation

In my personal opinion, one of the greatest contributors to global warming is Deforestation. As if the tree and natural ecosystems haven't already provided so much benefit to society, the destruction of them usually leads to far more negative effects on the world. Most of the deforestation that goes on today is the product of creating more grazing space for cattle in the meat industry. As a result, the pollution the cows generate is far worse because of it. We are destroying wild ecosystems and inhibiting the natural process for CO2 removal. One way I would tackle the problem of deforestation is by investing in synthetic meat production. Studies have come out showing that within the next decade synthetic meat production will be a viable option. In turn, you're eliminating the main reason for deforestation by creating meat in the lab. Most of the deforestation happens in third world countries and therefore the laws against it are weak and or corrupt officials accept...
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Town X Scenario Response

During this activity I was assigned the role of the "Kilo Watts" and my job was to acquire land to build a power plant for Selltech Power Corporation. The goal was to purchase land in accordance with the residents of Town X. The obstacles I overcame in order to acquire land was to appease to "Forres Green" environmentalist and her requirements which was easy, I could promise investment to her and policies set in place to avoid environmental waste. The greatest challenge was to overcome the stubbornness of the landowner. Due to the fact, his land had sentimental value to him, it was harder to appeal with logic during negotiations. Ultimately I offered a generous sum of money as it was still far more favorable than going to the county over and building there. The greatest takeaway from this exercise is that negotiating policies with various groups of people proved to be far more challenging due to the fact everybody has their own agenda and different values that are i...
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Reaction to Bias Game

The character I was playing was the owner of the Cat (Mrs. Tate) and I was supposed to act in the manner that she would. The game thought me how to understand the mindset and the attitude of different people in each situation. The game taught me that even though many people can think to be wrong it also shows that everyone can be right in their own way. The point of the game was to realize that everyone acts on their own biases in order to make decisions. However, being able to show compassion and understanding is something that can help solve situations. A little compassion could go a long way in today's society.
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