THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS

The Gaia hypothesis or the Gaia theory was proposed by James Lovelock, an independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist and has radically changed the way we view the natural environment. Do your research to find out what it is and write an essay describing it. Also mention to what extent you agree with Lovelock and support your opinion.

What  is it?

·         The Gaia hypothesis  https://www.slideshare.net/marianaboterop/gaia-6821731

·         The Gaia hypothesis: the earth as a system  https://www.slideshare.net/mrwozney/the-gaia-hypothesis-the-earth-as-a-system

Reading material to make notes on

·         Is the world an organism? https://aeon.co/essays/the-gaia-hypothesis-reimagined-by-one-of-its-key-sceptics?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3155c7cd23-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_12_04_04_33&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_411a82e59d-3155c7cd23-70333181

·         Gaia theory http://www.gaiatheory.org/overview/  Watch the videos as well

·         Gaia hypothesis https://courses.seas.harvard.edu/climate/eli/Courses/EPS281r/Sources/Gaia/Gaia-hypothesis-wikipedia.pdf

Videos to watch and take notes from

·         Gaia  Hypothesis, James Lovelock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIFRg2skuDI

How to save humankind? James Lovelock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuGj5n_vYz4

THE PROBLEM OF ELECTRONIC WASTE

 

Electronic waste and what to do about it are two of the most important problems facing humanity as valuable resources are wasted and depleted and the natural world is slowly poisoned. Do your research to find out where your discarded iphone or tablet ends up and what effects it has on the environment. When you are ready, use your notes to describe the problem and suggest solutions.

Animation

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ixtgA9uMs

The nature of the problem

·          What is e-waste? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmraERa1WQE

·         E-waste problem: overview  http://www.electronicstakeback.com/resources/problem-overview/   

Reading material to make notes on

·         Can we fix our way out of the growing e-waste problem?  https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51385344

·         The growing problem of e-waste

 https://rethink.ft.com/articles/growing-problem-ewaste

·         E-waste: a global hazard  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214999614003208       

Videos to take notes from

·         Electronic waste and the threat to resource security https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiahTEGJMAI

·         Putting an end to electronic waste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R1a8J1pmYQ

·         Greening our electronic waste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JYZDfmkVL4

·         New e-waste report features evidence from the Royal Society of Chemistry  https://www.rsc.org/news-events/articles/2020/nov/e-waste-report/

 

COVID 19, EDUCATION AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

 

Schools  have been closed for months now and online learning has replaced the classroom. What is more, it doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon. This situation, experts warn, will have lasting impacts on society and the world as every sphere of life is impacted by the covid generation. Do your researchand discuss these impacts.

OVERVIEW

·         Adverse consequences of school closures https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/consequences

READING MATERIAL TO MAKE NOTES ON

·         How covid 19 is affecting the world’s children https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200603-how-covid-19-is-changing-the-worlds-children

·         Covid 19, school closures and child poverty: a social crisis in the making https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30084-0/fulltext

·         Lost school time will hurt economy for 65 years https://www.bbc.com/news/education-53514564

·         The impacts of school closures on children in developing countries https://www.cmi.no/publications/7214-impacts-of-school-closures-on-children-in-developing-countries-can-we-learn-something-from-the-past

·         Coronavirus will explode achievement gaps in education https://www.epi.org/blog/the-coronavirus-will-explode-achievement-gaps-in-education/

VIDEOS TO WATCH AND TAKE NOTES FROM

·         Coronavirus could exacerbate existing children achievement gap https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Nu41B6-_vxc

·         Covid 19 and girl’s education: a tale of two futures https://www.facebook.com/UNGEI/videos/covid-19-and-girls-education-a-tale-of-two-futures-insolidaritywithgirls/718461532246192/

·         Webinar: education and structural inequalities during covid 19 https://www.brookings.edu/events/education-and-structural-inequalities-during-covid-19-how-do-finland-and-the-us-compare/

 

UNCONSCIOUS OR IMPLICIT BIAS AND HOW IT AFFECTS OUR LIVES

Many of us would deny having prejudices or being biased in any way but it transpires that we may not even be aware of our bias against various groups of people. Do your research to discover how this comes about and how it affects our lives. In your conclusion suggest ways to deal with unconscious bias.

 What is unconscious bias? Read

·         Unconscious bias https://diversity.ucsf.edu/resources/unconscious-bias

What is unconscious bias? Animation

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVp9Z5k0dEE

Take a test

·         Project Implicit  https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

Reading material to make notes on

·         Unconcsious bias and how it affects us more than we know https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/12/03/unconscious-bias-how-it-affects-us-more-than-we-know/#5dc4cd616e13

·         Unintended consequences of unconscious bias https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/articles/10049-unintended-consequences-of-unconscious-bias

Videos to watch and take notes from

·         Are you biased? I am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq_xYSOZrgU

·         How to outsmart your unconscious bias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-cqFLS8Q4

·         Implicit bias: how it affects us and how we push through https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr8G7MtRNlk 

THE EFFECTS OF THE GLOBAL LOCKDOWN

The global lockdown has had and continues to have devastating effects on many people around the world. It has affected livelihoods and quality of life . Do your research and write an essay discussing three of these effects in detail.

·         An increase in domestic abuse

1.       Impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on domestic violence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_domestic_violence

2.       Violence against women and girls, the shadow pandemic https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/statement-ed-phumzile-violence-against-women-during-pandemic

3.       Domestic violence calls for help https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uk-domestic-violence-charity-huge-spike-calls-for-help-as-coronavirus-lockdown-continues/

4.       UN supporting trapped domestic violence victims https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/un-supporting-%E2%80%98trapped%E2%80%99-domestic-violence-victims-during-covid-19-pandemic

·         Malnutrition and starvation as people lose livelihoods and remain housebound

1.       COVİD 19 could deepen food insecurity, malnutrition in Africa https://www.afro.who.int/news/covid-19-could-deepen-food-insecurity-malnutrition-africa

2.       Malnutrition https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/topics/malnutrition Read make notes on the first three articles

3.       Coronovirus threatens global surge in malnutrition https://reliefweb.int/report/world/coronavirus-threatens-global-surge-malnutrition-jeopardizing-future-extra-10-million

4.       Delivering nutrition services https://www.nutritionintl.org/2020/05/delivering-nutrition-services-during-covid-19-how-nutrition-international-is-working-to-avoid-a-looming-malnutrition-crisis/

5.       Covid 19 food systems and interaction with malnutrition http://paepard.blogspot.com/2020/04/covid-19-food-systems-and-interaction.html

·         Mental health issues

1.       Mayo clinic Q&A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH5WxRjp4Ug

2.       Managing stress and anxiety in the face of Covid 19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-qctBOMMBA

3.       Coronavirus: mental health and wellness during the Covid 19 pandemic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqprqUd56_g

DOES DISTANCE LEARNING WORK?

Covid 19 has disrupted the education system like it has many other areas of live and services offered to the public. Forced to stay closed, schools and universities have had to opt for distance learning. However, is distance learning a good substitute for the classroom or is it a temporary measure during times of crisis? Do your research and decide; then write an essay in which you defend your point of view.

BEFORE YOU START

·         Survey on online and distance learning  https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/viewpoints/surveys/survey-on-online-teaching.htm

·          

READING MATERIAL TO MAKE NOTES ON

·         Advantages and disadvantages of distance learning https://www.eztalks.com/elearning/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-distance-learning.html

·         Distance learning and early childhood education https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/professional-development/article/distance-learning-early-childhood-education

·         Online learning faces the ultimate test – Bu it is no substitute fort he classroom https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2020/03/20/online-learning-faces-the-ultimate-testbut-its-no-substitute-for-the-classroom/#4c8e1f5119f2

·         Virtual learning is OK but no replacement for classroom lessons https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/virtual-learning-is-okay-but-no-replacement-for-classroom-lessons/story-iQem8daJGDOdkECz94mcjJ.html

·         Why virtual teaching will never ever replace classroom teaching https://study.com/blog/why-virtual-teaching-will-never-ever-replace-classroom-teaching.html

VIDEOS TO TAKE NOTES FROM

·         COVID-19 outbreak's impact on education institutions around world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYD1j4VdAJ0

·         Expert Answers: How Do We Educate Children During the Coronavirus Pandemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=859zCzNGc1Q

·         Online learning has potential to stay beyond Covid 19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfpgtIZhtBs

·         Covid 19 impact on education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBHUsRkCdew

HOW WILL COVID19 AFFECT THE WORLD?

Covid 19 caused the first major worldwide pandemic since the influenza epidemic in the early 20^th century and has had some devastating effects. Will this pandemic have lasting effects on the way we live? Will it transform our social lives, politics and the world economy and if so how? Study the material below, add your own opinions and write an essay on the topic

Reading material to make notes on

·         How will Corona virus change the world? https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world

·         We can’t go back to normal: how will Corona virus change the world? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/how-will-the-world-emerge-from-the-coronavirus-crisis

·         The new world: how the world will be different after Covid 19? https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzytaherian/2020/04/07/the-new-world-how-the-world-will-be-different-after-covid-19/#f40921a5d158

·         How Covid 19 will change the nation’s long term economic trends, acc to the Brookings Metro scholars https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-covid-19-will-change-the-nations-long-term-economic-trends-brookings-metro/

Videos to take notes from

·         Covid 19: how it will change the world https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsArdIXgRTU

·         How the Corona virus pandemic is changing the world  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldKtWp7jlHI

·         What Corona virus means for the global economy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrxYhv2O3wU