Day 58 - Friday December 3. 2010

Hi Family. I hope that you don't fall down with a nasty case of Mount Washintonitis today. If you aren't here because you're "sick" cough cough then please check this blog to find out what we're doing in class today.

D - Geography 12 - Today we will look at reading a weather map. You can practice by using the following web pages: Wisconsin station model exercise WW2010 University of Illinois weather page Weather Report.com Your activity is to be the weather forecaster for Detroit Michigan and on page 17 of your week 13 package look at the synoptic chart figure out the probable weather for the next two days.

Next we'll look at Thunderstorms. We will look at how thunderstorms develop and what damage they can do. I'll show you a few quick videos of hail and lightning to see how they form and then at the end of the class you'll need to work on questions 13 and 14 from page 248 of your Geosystems textbook. Tomorrow we look at tornadoes, Wednesday we look at hurricanes, Thursday we'll spend the class looking at global climate classifications and Friday we're in the library working on our next project. Next Wednesday (December 16th) you'll have a unit final. UCAR: How Thunderstorms Work FEMA: Thunderstorms physicalgeography.net: Thunderstorms also found here National Severe Storm Laboratory: Thunderstorms




C - Law 12 - Today we finish our look at trial procedures and will discuss what "privileged communication" is. We will then shift into sentencing and look at the objectives of sentencing (deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, re socialization, and segregation). You will need to answer the following questions:

Define: absolute discharge, conditional discharge, probation, suspended sentence, concurrent sentence, consecutive sentence, intermittent sentence, indeterminate sentence, parole, day parole, statutory release, and pardon

page 162 questions 8 & 11
page 166 questions 1, 2, & 4
page 171 questions 4 & 7

This takes us to the end of our criminal law unit and on Tuesday you'll have a unit final quiz and then we will turn our focus to civil law.

A - Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today we'll begin a look at crime scene investigation. We'll look at securing crime scenes and understand some of the proceedures and things that can be collected at the scene of a crime. Afterwards we'll watch an episode of CSI (Season 3 Episode 319 "A Night at the Movies"). There are many important things to notice in this episode but the one thing that I'd like you to remember is that forensics can't solve every case and that the forensic analysis of crime scenes is a tedious, slow meticulous and process.

Pau Hana Ohana

Day 57 - Thursday December 2. 2010

A Block Law 9/10 - Today we'll start with the A&E documentary on Jeffrey Dahmer (Serial Killers:Profiling the Criminal Mind). From the imdb website a review states:

Dahmer: Mystery of the Serial Killer (1993), written by Michael Husain, and focusing on one of the more grotesque serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer. This episode also traces past serial killers. Described as the "embodiment of evil" and like Haley's comet by his defence attorney - who thankfully "only appears once every 75 years", excerpts from Dahmer's trial are seen here as is his own address to the court, though Dahmer has his back to the camera. Forensic Psychiatrist Park Dietz diagnoses Dahmer as being accidently conditioned in puberty to associate sex with violence, control and mutilation, and though he is described as a necrophile, his taste is more for "sex zombies" created from the crude lobotomies of his victims, than corpses. Dietz also comments that Dahmer needed to be drunk to kill and dismember, with Dahmer's alcoholism said to be as compulsive as his murdering. The medical examiner describes what the police found in Dahmer's apartment as a "localised disaster", and the trial scenes also include the testimony

You can find an alternate version of the documentary on YouTube. It is the Biography of Jeffrey Dahmer and can be watched in parts here or below.

While watching the Dahmer video I'd like you to take notes on two questions I'd like you to answer:

Try to build a psychological criminal profile of Jeffrey Dahmer
Why do we glamourize serial killers in the media?
Use the following websites to help this weekend if you need to

About dot com Jeffrey Dahmer

Associated Content Jeffrey Dahmer

Criminal profiling dot com Jeffrey Dahmer

TruTV Jeffrey Dahmer

Please try to answer these two questions as homework on the weekend for Monday next week (December 6th).

C - Law 12 - Today we will we'll continue our look at court room procedures focusing on the advantages of trial by jury and then we'll understand the methods and challenges to jury selection. You'll need to complete questions 2-6 on page 124 of your All About Law text. I'll be pushing you a bit this week to get our criminal law unit finished because next Monday (December 6th) you'll have your unit final test. Remember the unit final will only be on arrests, warrants, pre-trial procedures, trial organization, evidence, and sentencing options post trial.
BC Ministry of the Attorney General - Jury Duty

D - Geography 12 - Today we start looking at storms and "CYCLOGENESIS"...sweet! We will look at mid-latitude cyclones and the source regions of air masses that cause these storms to develop. We'll analyze the difference between the three dimensional structure of a warm front and a cold front and if you're especially good (and you should be as Santa is coming soon) then we'll finish watching our BBC friend Mr. Donal McIntyre and his efforts to combat both cold and wet extremes on the planet. Tomorrow is all about weather maps and then Wednesday through Friday sees us in the library for the Severe Weather power point assignment. Today, you'll need to hand in last week's work on atmospheric moisture (Day 55) and the circulation of air around high and low pressure systems (Day 54). Your work to accomplish for the day is questions 1, 2, and 5 from page 147 and question 10 from page 248 in your Geosystems textbook. The following sites will help with cyclogenesis:
Michael Ritter's The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography on line text
National Weather Service Jet Stream on line weather school
University of Illinois WW2010 Weather Wold Project
Rapid Cyclogenesis Web lesson
Environment Canada Understanding Cyclogenesis

Day 56 - Wednesday December 1. 2010

C - Law 12 - Today we begin our look at courts and trial procedures. We'll look at the three court levels in BC (Provincial, Supreme, and Appellate) then we'll focus on courtroom organization and then we'll discuss the roles and responsibilities of the judge, the crown prosecutor, defense counsel, the court clerk, court recorder, and sheriff.

D - Geography 12 - Today we will finish the Air Highs & Lows of it activity from yesterday and then we'll look at atmospheric moisture, humidity, and the four atmospheric mechanisms that cool a parcel of air to its dew point & cause precipitation (orographic, convectional, frontal, and radiative cooling). You will complete questions 9 from page 211 and 21 & 23 from page 212 of your Geosystems textbook. While you are working on the questions I'll have the BBC DVD "The Weather" on for us to watch the wet episode.

A - Introduction to Law 9/10 - Today we'll start with your second quiz in the course. This quiz will be on the work you covered with Ms. Stoyles last week (on the differences between serial/mass murder; on psychopathy; and on the life course persistent criminal). After the quiz, we'll finish our look at geographic profiling that we started yesterday. To end the class, we'll begin our unit on crime scene procedures and we'll look at what the basic stages of a crime scene search are. The following are some great web pages to help understand the procedures:

Learning for Life Crime Scene Search study guide
U.S. Department of Justice Crime Scene Investigation guide
Criminal Profiling Crime Scene searches (FBI guidelines)

If you are interested in crime scene investigation as a career check out the BCIT courses (in Burnaby!) here

Day 55 - Tuesday, November 30. 2010

Hi Family; it's good to be back. Let me start off by thanking all of you for working so well with Ms. Stoyles over the last week. I consider it fortunate to work with some very cool students who are understanding and willing to put in an effort both when I'm here and when I'm not. I sincerely apologize for not maintaining the blog while I was away but I know that Ms. Stoyles kept everyone up to date on their work. Mahalo.

A- Introduction to Law 9/10 - Tomorrow you have your second quiz in Law 9/10 and today I would like to spend a bit of time wrapping up the work form last week on the differences between mass and serial murder and the profile of a psychopath. Next we'll finish our look at profiling by examining Geographic profiling. I'll ask you to brainstorm a list of locations in the Comox Valley that you feel crime will be more prevalent in and you'll have to justify your reasoning. For more on Geographic profiling check out:
Mapping Crime by Keith Harris
Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation
RCMP Geographic Profiling
Los Angeles Auto Theft "hot spots" 2003

Don't forget you need to hand in your profile of a person who commits criminal mischief (computer hacking) in the class. Complete this as a “dossier file” and imagine that it will be provided to the computer forensics department of the local R.C.M.P. detachment.

D - Geography 12 - Today we'll continue our look at weather; working on an activity called “Air: The High and Low of it” (week 13 package Day 54 – winds and atmospheric circulation). After you have finished this activity you need to complete questions 19 and 21 from page 177 in your Geosystems textbook.

Don't forget, we'll start the class by looking at the synoptic chart for North America and begin to understand weather station plots. Take some time on the following sites to learn more and to practice your weather operational analysis capabilities:
WW2010 - University of Illinois Weather site
National Weather Service "Jet Stream" online weather school
American Meteorological Society "Data Streme"
British Broadcasting Corporation Reading Weather Maps
USA Today Reading Weather Maps

Practise at: Weather Office (Environment Canada) Operational Analysis Charts or at the Data Streme site above

C - Law 12 - Today you have the block to finish and hand in all work from last week. Your tests have been marked and I will post your current term 2 marks so that you have an idea of where you're at in the course. Tomorrow we will move on to courtroom structure and organization along with the roles of people who work in it, Thursday sees us look at juries and Friday we'll cover evidence. Next week we'll look at sentencing and prisons which ends our criminal law unit.