Thursday, November 2. 2017

Today's schedule is D-C-B-A

D Block Criminology 12 - Today, since we didn't get to it yesterday, we'll watch the History Channel DVD "Scammed"...419 scams are called so because the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code that makes it illegal to obtain money under false pretences is section 419. Millions of North Americans and Europeans are being targeted by scammers from Nigeria with very few being arrested or suffering any consequences.

419 is a modern day version of the 1500's Spanish Prisoner con when after the English defeated the Spanish armada in 1588-89, there were still a lot of English sailors who didn’t make it home. Letters began arriving to wealthy English families using the same idea, "if you can give me a small amount of money, then I can free this English prisoner.” In the same way then as today, the con man keeps squeezing more money and eventually begins threatening the victim. Canadian author Will Ferguson received the Giller Prize in 2012 for his book 419 - the tale of an email scam and a woman who sets out on a wide-ranging search for those she believes responsible for her father's death.

Facebook Scams You Need to Know (Huffington Post)

Phishing Examples

Scammers Using Social Media (FBI)

Top 10 Scams of 2016 BBB Victoria
Top 10 scams of 2016 Global TV Vancouver

Fraud.org Top 10 Scams of 2016

C Block Human Geography 11 - Today we are back in the library for your last day to work on your information graphic poster on an endangered language. Remember, for your endangered language you’ll need to:

1. Show where the endangered language originated and diffused to (yes on a map).
2. Show the connection to the family, branch, and group of the endangered language. (Use your best judgment on this). 
3. Show where the language is spoken today, indicate how many people speak it.
4. Show Unique features of this endangered language (What makes it different to and similar than others?)
5. Show examples of how the language is written and or spoken 
6. Show why your endangered language is important to save
7. Show how your endangered language is both being threatened (contributing factors) and being saved
8. Show how people can find more info (links...sources cited)

See me if you need help or assistance. This project is due Monday - email me your digital infoposter.

B Block Physical Geography 12 - Today we're continuing our look at water by focusing on coastal processes and land forms. We will look at how water erodes, shapes, and creates coastal landscapes by focusing on long shore current & drift. We'll analyze the differences between an erosional and depositional coastline and try to make sense of the hazards of living along depositional coastlines (think Cape Hatteras, North Carolina). Some facts:

1. More than 155 million people (53 percent of the population) reside in U.S. coastal counties comprising less than 11 percent of the land area of the lower 48 states.
2. Roughly 1,500 homes are lost to erosion each year.
3. Nearly 180 million people visit the U.S. coast every year, and coastal states account for 85 percent of U.S. tourism revenues. The tourism industry is the nation’s largest employer and second largest contributor to gross domestic product.
4. 71 percent of annual U.S. disaster losses are the result of coastal storms.
5. Close to 350,000 homes and buildings are located within 150 meters of the ocean.Within 60 years, one out of every four of those structures will be destroyed.

For additional information and help on questions 8, 11, 13, & 14 in your Geosystems text go to:

University of Regina Geomorphology Class notes
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Geomorphology from space site
USGS Coastal & Marine Geology program
NOAA: Pressures on Coastal Environments
AGI Interactive Map of Coastal Hazards

There's a great article on the dangers of people moving to coastlines at National Geographic 

There's a great web page on the Graveyard of the Atlantic: Sable Island Nova Scotia. Check out more on Sable Island here 

You can also find some very good before-after photos of the destruction caused to coastal landforms and human infrastructure by Hurricane Sandy at the CBC here or the Weather Channel here. 

And there was a good story on CBC about last week's topics (rock slides and the Trans Canada Highway here in BC)

Wednesday, November 1. 2017

Today's schedule is B-A-D-C

B Block Physical Geography 12 - Today we look at stream profiles, deltas, and floodplains. We are focusing on the erosive action of rivers along with the land forms that they create. You will need to copy a meandering stream profile (figure 14.15 on p.460 in the Geosystems text) and a diagram on oxbow lake formation (figure 14.16 on p.461 in the Geosystems text). Your homework is questions 17, 20, 21 & 22 from page 482 in your Geosystems text.

Diagram from William Galloway of the University of Texas

D Block Criminology 12 - Today we'll start our look at white collar crime. We will begin by learning how to identify a pyramid / ponzi scam (for more take a look at How Stuff Works). Next, we'll look at individual exploitation of an institutional position, influence peddling & bribery, theft and employee fraud, client fraud and corporate crime. I'll introduce to Edwin H. Sutherland's Differential Association Theory (he introduced the concept "white collar crime").  A great example of embezzlement and swindling was presented by John Oliver on Last Week Tonight



Another really good example of a text message scam can be found in a CBC news story...where bad cheques are forged and passed on to unsuspecting victims.
We'll also see what we can find on the Internet about white collar crime....spoil alert LOTS!
National Check Fraud Center
Robert O. Keel White Collar Crime
Canadian Encyclopedia White Collar Crime
Federal Bureau of Investigation White Collar Crime Division
Understanding White Collar Crime
News Stories of White Collar Crime

Lastly we'll start watching the History Channel DVD "Scammed"...




C Block Human Geography 11 - For the next two days we are back in the library working on your information graphic poster on an endangered language. Remember, for your endangered language you’ll need to:

1. Show where the endangered language originated and diffused to (yes on a map).
2. Show the connection to the family, branch, and group of the endangered language. (Use your best judgment on this). 
3. Show where the language is spoken today, indicate how many people speak it.
4. Show Unique features of this endangered language (What makes it different to and similar than others?)
5. Show examples of how the language is written and or spoken 
6. Show why your endangered language is important to save
7. Show how your endangered language is both being threatened (contributing factors) and being saved
8. Show how people can find more info (links...sources cited)

An Infoposter is a graphic that conveys multiple segments of information typically using words and numbers to represent data. Infoposters generally use iconic-type graphic elements for visual design appeal and are typically vertical in orientation, like a wall poster. They are meant to be read, usually from top to bottom. They are created to collect a variety of data about a topic in one place and to communicate it in an interesting and easy-to-read format.

You will need to chose an information graphic site to use:

Infogram

Canva

Easily  

Visme  

Venngage  

Snappa  

Piktochart

What can your poster look like? Here are some stock vector examples for layout ideas

And then you could use this Spanish language infoposter as a guide as well

Tuesday, October 31. 2017

Happy Halloween. Today's spooktacular schedule is C-D-A-B

C Block Human Geography 11 - Today we'll look the the key question "Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?" This is the basis of your current project in Human Geography (and we'll be back in the library for this tomorrow and Thursday this week). We'll look at multilingual states and linguistic diversity in Switzerland, Belgium, Nigeria and here in Canada. We'll try to examine of Celtic languages like Welsh, Irish, Breton, Scottish, and Cornish are being preserved along with Aboriginal languages (in Both Australia and Canada) and Maori (in New Zealand). Finally we'll look at English as a lingua franca and examine pidgin, Fringlish, Spanglish and Denglish.








D Block Criminology 12 - Today we'll delve deeper into theft by looking at Burglary, Break and Enter, Arson (and the motives for setting fires intentionally) and then we'll examine the five types of motor vehicle theft.

B Block Physical Geography 12 - Today we're looking at streams and drainage basins. You'll need to work on a few definitions, a diagram, and questions 1, 3, 10, 11, and 12 from page 481 in your Geosystems textbook. The Canadian Atlas online has a great section on drainage basins . In order to understand streams we'll watch a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode on the topic - Rivers & Streams (#209). Splash down a rapid river with Bill Nye the Science Guy and explore how ecosystems work and why they are important to our environment. From waterfalls and dams, to the depths of the Grand Canyon, this is one wet and wild ride. This week's music video showcases the Talking Headwaters singing "Take Me to the River

Monday, October 30. 2017

Today's schedule is A-B-C-D

B Block Physical Geography 12 - Today we're looking at water. The USGS diagram to the left shows the distribution of water on the planet and explains the amount of water available for "human use". You'll note that there is precious little water available for 7 billion people. Then consider that the flora and fauna of the biosphere require water as well and you can see the importance of water to all forms of life on the planet. Today we'll look at the properties of water in its three phases and then you'll need to sketch a diagram of the hydrologic cycle (page 253 in Geosystems). Next you'll need to define: condensation, evaporation, transpiration, precipitation, sublimation, percolation, aquifer, zone of aeration, and zone of saturation. Lastly you'll need to complete questions 2 & 5 from page 210, 1 from page 278, and 14, 16, & 18 from page 280 all in your Geosystems text. To help look at the United States Geological Survey Water Cycle website and the University of Kentucky Geology Department flash animation site.


C Block Human Geography 11 - Today we'll look at the key question "Why Do Individual Languages Vary Among Places"? To help with this we will look at dialect and accent. A dialect is a regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. Generally, speakers of one dialect can understand speakers of another dialect. Due to its widespread diffusion around the world, English has an especially large number of dialects and subdialects. So we'll look at English and the accents that developed here in Canada, in the United States and see how they are different from UK English. We'll also look at when dialects become languages...like Catalán...and you'll have some questions to answer today in the Week 9 work package.

D Block Criminology 12 - Today we are off to the library for our last blog assignment for the term and I'd like you to answer the following:

What characteristics must a good burglar have? What theory of criminal behaviour best predicts the development of a good burglar? If a good burglar is a professional thief then is their career path similar to other professionals like lawyers or doctors? 

Look at Neil Shover's explanation on page 234-237 in the CRIM textbook.... Neal Shover studied the careers of professional burglars and uncovered the existence of a particularly successful type--the good burglar. Shover also discovered that a person becomes a good burglar through learning the techniques of the trade from older, more experienced burglars. Also try to answer:

What can you do to reduce the chances of being victimized by a good burglar?