Migration, Race, & Genetics

Today in class we completed researched about migration worldwide. To me, it was interesting to see how we automatically assume peoples' race by the way they look and more than half the time are completely wrong. On a page published by pbs, you were given a group of 20 people with 5 categories containing 4 slots. You then had to determine what race the person was based on their looks. I was shocked at how different my answers were than the actual ones. On the same website, that same group of 20 people where then shown divided by fingerprint type, blood type, and even darkness/lightness of their skin tones. There was also a page on the website that showed how the views of race have changed over the years and how the idea of "race" didn't develop until recent years. It talked about how when slavery existed, the concept of race did not exist. On a second website there was an interactive map of the world. As I began to click on country to country it showed me where the majority of the immigrants came from to the country and how many immigrants there were. I was shocked to see how some of the least expected places provided the largest amount of people to a country. For example, India, followed closely by Poland, provide the greatest number of immigrants to the United Kingdom. I think the biggest thing that stood out to me though, is that you really never know a person's story till you ask.

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Philanthropy @ Work

So, lately we've been learning about philanthropy. We tied it into our last unit because most of the people in the 19th century that actually went places in life were philanthropists. At first I didn't really see how it differed from charity but now I know... You can't have philanthropy without the charity. You have to have a place to start (charity) and then you continue to grow awareness of the cause and help make the situation better (philanthropy). As it was so wisely said in class, charity is the now but philanthropy is the vision. If I were ever able to make enough money to consider being a philanthropist I would put a lot of my time and effort into the diabetes field. Being a diabetic myself I realize just how close the cure is but see the areas we are lacking in. I would also put my time into getting the world back to how it once was. When there weren't homeless pets or starving children. A place where everyone felt at home.

Survival of the Fittest?

Today in class we decided to discuss Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection. We were then sent off on our own to use primary sources to investigate these theories in practice. The Bradley Martin Ball provided one of the best examples for this. We were then given a list of links and questions from Mrs. Lawson to go along with the exercise. Just by clicking on the first link I can tell that the ball was a big deal. The entire page is strictly about the ball and let me tell you, the article is long. The editors of the paper have assumed that the readers of this article are of a higher class. Thus, the reader understands the ball's importance and what a grand accomplishment it was/is. The perspective of the paper is just an outside looking in. It discusses the background behind the party up until the point of the party. A second link took me to a completely different article regarding the ball. In this article, the ball is made out to be very lavish and beautiful. We are walked through the event from start to finish and not a bitter word was said regarding the party. From this article we can learn that of those who could "afford" to attend the ball, it was a night to remember. From a third article we get the feeling that maybe the ball wasn't so lovely after all. The article focuses on a clergyman. In the article it is quite obvious that he views elaborate displays like this as inappropriate and against the moral beliefs set by the church. He also states that with parties like this it is easy for drama to be stirred up such as discontent and casting out the votes against the existing of social conditions. This article was most likely published to show those around him that a man of a higher standing doesn't agree with the practices of the higher classes and that "bigger" isn't always perfect.... From a fourth and final article we are given an insiders view on the end of the ball. From this, we can learn that even then, looks were everything. A person had to be just the right size and spend just the right amount of money in preparation for the party in order to fit in. We also learn that people's sense of timing hasn't changed a bit and that they lack in the field of communication just as much as we do today.

Thinking About Success

In class today we were given a challenge, rank the four following words in order of importance to success. The words are: luck, opportunity, skill, and hard work. In my opinion, the order should go as hard work, skill, opportunity, and then luck with hard work being most important and luck being least important. Here's why I put them in that order. Hard work comes first because skills can't be developed overnight. There are plenty of successful people in the world who weren't "great" at their craft originally but stuck with it and then came out more successful than most. Skill comes second because sometimes it takes more than just hard work and determination. Opportunity comes third because sometimes you need that extra boost to get to where you want to be. And finally, luck, because when all else fails you might get lucky and make millions.

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Industry: The Clothing Market

Have you ever stopped to think about how clothes get on the racks in the stores? I'm not talking about how they are made or what sort of transportation is used to get them from the factory to the store. I'm talking about the people behind the clothes. Well, I'm going to be honest.... I don't think it ever really crossed my mind. I guess I knew it took people to get the job done but I didn't realize how big of a role they played. In an article published within the past 5 years I discovered exactly what it meant to work in the fashion industry. There are people designing the clothes, choosing how many of each item to make, how many stores the clothes will go to, making sure the clothes get from place to place, making sure the clothes meet company standards, and keeping track of the "it" clothes to know how to arrange their inventory. On top of all that you have to have the people actually in the factories to produce the clothes and someone to create the business itself. In a second article written about H&M the author discusses how the business has been able to be so successful all these years. It had never occurred to me how much thought or planning went into my shirt or jeans. I guess it just has to do with the fact that I've always had a change of clothes to pick from in the morning and I've never had to worry about what I'm going to wear. It was shocking to me how many warehouses and production offices and buildings there are around the world for just one store. Think about how many different stores there are that have completely different looks for the same time of the year. Okay, now multiply that number by 2 or 3 and thats not even the total number of factories. That's insane! So, my challenge to you is this: next time you go to put on a pair of jeans, shoes, a shirt, socks, or even a scarf, take a minute and just think about all the people it took to get that one article of clothing to you.

http://www.citylab.com/work/2012/03/how-us-companies-decide-where-build-their-chinese-factories/1412/