The Cove

So it's the night before the exam and what better way to prepare than by watching and reviewing The Cove. I've been looking forward to watching this, lets see how it is. Before watching this I don't really know anything about this subject, hopefully that'll change by the end. The film was produced by the Ocean Preservation Society who aim to reduce the degradation of the seas and promote the protection of the seas to the public.

The beginning is very well planned, before the film has even started it's giving brief passages of information on the main menu screen which help to gain a background knowledge. The film is 'set' in Taiji in Japan, the town appears to love whales and dolphins but they seem to have a dark secret. Ric O'Barry is a wanted man in this town and is hated by dolphin hunters and the dolphin industry across the world. He originally captured and trained the 5 dolphins for the TV series Flipper.

He then realised there intelligence and the fact that they possess self awareness and that they shouldn't be held in captivity. He claims that although they look happy whilst performing it's not true, they just naturally look happy. They should be moving up to 40 miles a day like they do in the wild but they can't.

Back to Taiji and the film shows boat 'drives'. The boats place poles into the water and bang them with hammers, this scares the dolphins forcing them into a bay where they can be selected by dolphin trainers. It doesn't really seem that bad as of yet. From here they can be taken anywhere in the world and a dolphin can be worth up to $150,000. His world was turned around when Flipper (Cathy) committed suicide in his arms, dolphins and whales takes conscious breaths (they have to think about it) meaning they can choose not to at any point. In this sense Cathy committed suicide.

23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed each year in Japan, they sell the meat at dolphin and whale shows. The IWC don't count dolphins as whales... they're not big enough. Ric has been banned from all IWC meetings in the future. In 1986 the IWC banned the hunting of whales apart from for scientific research. So the Japanese claim that they hunt them for scientific research.

From here on in the film changes from giving information about the dolphin hunting to what they can do about it and the methods they've been using to get information and infiltrate the bay. The film illustrates that although the fisherman claim that eating dolphin is part of Japan's culture, many in Tokyo, Kyoto etc. didn't realise that people even ate dolphin. It's also considered a poor choice of meat which leads to misleading packaging calling dolphin meat whale meat.

Since the ban Japan has fought to overturn the ban on whale hunting. Their most recent tactic is going to 'bankrupt nations' and paying them to agree with the Japanese e.g. St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda. Another tactic to get the public on the side of the whalers has been to give schools free dolphin meat even though it is highly contaminated with Mercury due to Biomagnification and Bioaccumulation.

I can't really put into words the next part of the film, it's better if you watch it yourself. The waters run red with the blood of dolphins coupled with the endless shrieking from the dolphins.

Overall
I enjoyed this film has it highlighted a trade which I never really knew went on, it's sort of scary the way something this big can go on without people knowing about it. What I didn't like was the way it was so one biased that they spoke to like a handful of Japanese people throughout the whole of the film but I suppose it is a propaganda film.


Sorry for such a long post guys!

Week 4

So then lads and lasses you may be wondering what we got up to this week in Geography, well like the previous week we talked about general stuff for a bit and then moved swiftly onto the most exciting topic known to man... statistics. I have to admit, music in Wednesday's lesson (The Bloodhound Gang, Chesney Hawkes, Rick Astley etc.) and cake did make it more bearable. 


Always remember that in statistics n=the number of pieces of data.


Mean, Median, Mode
So basically, there are three really easy ones; the mean, the median and the mode. The mean is all of the pieces of data added together and then divided by the number of pieces of data so say you had 2, 5, 7, 3, 6, 10, 1 the mean would be 34/7=4.86 (to 2 d.p). 
The median is the piece of data which is in the centre, once all of the pieces of data have been put in order so the median would be 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10. If there is a lot of data then a quick way of figuring out the centre value is (n+1)/2, so for our example it would be (7+1)/2=4 so the median is the fourth value. Simple right? 
The mode is just the number which appears the most, if they all appear the same number of times then there is no mode. 


The Interquartile Range (IQR)
The interquartile range is relatively straightforward to figure out but people seem to struggle with it. To figure out the range then you need to first figure out the Lower and Upper Quartiles. To figure out the Lower Quartile then you need to do the same for figuring out the value for the median but divide it by 4 instead. So it's (n+1/4), thus for our data the Lower Quartile would be data piece number two because 7+1/4=2... so the Lower Quartile for our set of data would be 2. 
The Upper Quartile is exactly the same apart from we have to multiply by 3, so the equation is 3(n+1/4). Thus the Upper Quartile for our data would be data piece 6 (3(n+1)/4=6) which is 7. 


After this figuring out the range is simple, just subtract 2 from 7 which gives you 5. (It's just a coincidence that is equals the same as the median, it won't always. 


Standard Deviation 
As hard I tried I couldn't figure out how to write this up on my laptop, if you want more help feel free to ask but this website explains it brilliantly. 
http://www.gcseguide.co.uk/standard_deviation.htm


Spearman's Coefficient Rank of Correlation 
Can't do this on a laptop, I know I know I suck. Here's a link instead 
http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Spearman's-Rank-Correlation-Coefficient
If they don't give you significance figures then the closer to 1 or -1 your answer then the more correlated. For example a result of 0.96 would show strong positive correlation, whereas a result of -0.96 would show strong negative correlation. The closer to 0 the less correlation. Generally anything below 0.4/above -0.4 has little correlation. 


Chi Squared
Everyone's favourite test, the one which tells you so little and takes so long. Link time, this time find the section entitled "Getting Results"
http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/skills/fieldwork/stats/chi.html#n6
Make sure you know this one, don't rely on the internet if you're stuck find out how you do it! 


Mann Whitney U 
Unfortunately I can't find a link for this one and I can't type it up. Sorry guys. 


Yeah so that's what week 4 comprised of...

Belfast's Greener Transport Scheme

Belfast rapid transit is a scheme that was originally founded as an idea in 2008 and the first stage is going to take place during 2011. This first stage is ensuring where the project is going and what routes the buses will take. The new transport will be cheap and quick. Fuel choices for this have been carefully picked with LPG, electric/diesel or hydrogen cells being the final choices; this means that the system will be less reliant on fossil fuels reducing carbon emissions (note the synoptic link) and reducing the inflation of prices.

There are 3 main links set up as the basing of the system one of these routes goes towards the hospital and the others stop at many basic amenities. These improved changes to the transport results in everyone having the opportunity to get from one side of the city to the other, even the most deprived. This will result in the most deprived being able to travel every day to areas with job demands and with better paid jobs. This linking of the area should help the regeneration as it reduces the divide. Speed is one of the main features of the service as tickets will be bought before the bus is at the stop meaning that there is less stopping time and during peak hours the system will still be fast as it has a dedicated lane to travel in around the city.

Week 3

My first full week of geography lessons to blog about and I can remember very little… 

So then, the first two lessons of the week were spent working on the Environmental Quality Assessment (EQA) which we’ve already kind of talked about. There are some pretty crucial points to remember when writing an answer to a question about an EQA to make sure you get the full marks: 

1. Explain the limitations of doing fieldwork i.e. we can’t get there, it’s pretty dangerous, it’s a very sensitive topic etc. 
2. Explain other possible options and why their limitations mean you won’t do them e.g. questionnaires, imagine if an old woman in Belfast got a questionnaire from every Geography student in the country…
3. Explain the importance of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) such as Google Earth and how it can help perform EQAs if it’s not possible to get there. 
4. Explain the sampling strategy (see previous post) 
5. Produce 5 categories, pick one and set out guidelines for the scoring system. 1=the best 5=the worst, make sure it’s in depth!! 
6. Lastly explain what you would do with the stats (mostly likely not much), maybe an isovel graph? I don’t know I can’t do everything.

Friday’s lesson was spent going through the rest of the questions, most of which were relatively simple. Just make sure you know what the key words are particularly comment. To comment on something you need to describe and explain the data. Pick a piece of data which you know a lot about and is interesting. That way you can get the most marks for using your own knowledge. 

I am thoroughly bored of Belfast and would love to start tectonics again, it has cool things like this =)

The Gasworks

So 4b isn’t just about the information found within the AIB it is also about doing bits of research yourself and furthering your own knowledge so here is some information and history on the Gasworks.

This area was originally set up as a gas works (believe it or not!) in the 19th century and is a 12 hectare area of space. The site cesaed to be used as such in 1965 and was later bought by the council in the 1990’s. At first the area was named unfit for public use as it was contaminated but the EU funded the regeneration of the area and a business park was established.  In the past 3 years the project has moved quickly and resulted in other buisnesses coming to the area such as a halifax call centre (employing 2000 people, multiplyer effect here they come) and a 130 roomed hotel! In addition cycle paths and open green spaces have been created for recreational purposes. Smaller businesses have slowly started setting up in the area alongside that a social housing scheme has commenced aimed specifically at the chinese community.

     Old parts of the gasworks are maintained as major features within the area and i believe this is the key to the way forwards in Belfast: to include the past and everything that has come with it from buildings to some of the less offensive murals and make it a part of the future as you can’t simply start to eradicate everything that has torn a community apart for decades.

Laganside Weir

This image depicts Laganside Weir, one of the major redevelopment projects undertaken in Belfast and specifically mentioned in the AIB. The project cost £14 million making it one of the biggest projects undertaken in Northern Ireland and has been described as the catalyst for redevelopment along the riverside. 

The objective of the weir is to maintain an artificial level to ensure that the mudflats (which cause a terrible smell and are unsightly) constantly remain submerged. With the mudflats hidden redevelopment of prime riverside location could begin. The redevelopment of the Old Gasworks, the Odyssey and Lanyon Place have been made more successful in attracting, tenants/customers etc. due to the efforts of the Laganside Weir.

The Weir can also be used to protect the city from dangerously high tides as well as having the potential to generate electricity using tidal power. This a great synoptic link worth sticking in your exam if you remember.

What Sampling Strategy to Use?

Now the focus of our geography lesson today was mainly about Environmental Quality Assessments, which I’ll talk more about at the end of the week. What I did realise was that people seem to find it difficult to chose which sampling strategy to use and what you do for each of them. So I thought it would be pretty beneficial to go through them and outline the advantages and disadvantages. 

Random Sampling

Exactly what it says, this strategy is completely random. To complete this strategy the area being surveyed needs to be divided into a grid formation. Then squares should be picked at random until you have the number of samples needed, the easiest way of picking at random is to number each grid square and then use a random number generator (easily found on the internet or on a calculator) to chose numbers which then relate to a grid square. The numbers picked are then your site locations. 

Positives:

• It isn’t biased

Negatives:

• Can form clusters of samples
• Can result in a poor representation of a area/population
• Inaccessible areas may be selected by the sampling 

Systematic Sampling

This strategy is relatively straight forward to understand and implement. Systematic sampling is choosing an area/street every x metres/roads. If needed an area can be split into grids like for random sampling and a sample taken every x number of grid squares. 

Positives: 

• Prevents clustering 
• Reduces bias associated with pragmatic sampling 

Negatives:

• Can result in a poor representation of an area/population 
• Doesn’t guarantee a wide range of samples e.g. all the samples may be extremely urbanised areas with little green space
• Pattern used for sampling may coincide with a pattern in population distribution which could cause skewed results.

Stratified Sampling

This is possibly the hardest one to understand and one most people find hard to understand. Stratified sampling provides an equal representation of an area by providing a sample size in proportion to the overall population. For example imagine I want to to survey 5 streets in an area which has 10 streets in it. 3 of these streets are Protestant, 7 are Catholic. Ideally I want my sample size to be in proportion of the population so to conduct a stratified sample I need to figure out how many Protestant streets I need to survey and how many Catholic streets I need to survey. To do this some basic maths is required (total number of protestant (or catholic) streets/total number of streets x sample size). So to figure out the sample sizes for the area you would do these equations 

P = 3/10 x 5 = 1.5 streets need to be sampled 

C = 7/10 x 5 = 3.5 streets need to be sampled

In reality it would be difficult to sample half a street but it’s just an example. The streets can then be chosen as needed. 

Positives:

• Provides an equal representation of the population/area
• A wide range of samples can be gained 
• Eliminates the chance of ‘freak’ sample sites

Negatives: 

• May be bias whilst choosing streets

Pragmatic Sampling 

The final strategy you need to know (thank god for that, this post has taken me hours to write and figure out…). Now it would probably help to know the definition of pragmatic; “dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations” well that’s according to my mac’s dictionary anyway. Basically this method is where you pick the locations you want based on where you think the results will be for your survey (EQA). 

Positives: 

• You only (theoretically) get the data you need from the area(s) you need
• It saves a lot of time instead of trawling through useless data
• You can ensure you get an equal representation of the population/area and a wide range of samples can be taken
• In theory you can mix both stratified and pragmatic sampling creating something I’d like to name Pragmatic Stratified sampling but don’t quote me on that

Negatives: 

• Hugely biased, you’re unlikely to pick an area which there’s a high chance you’ll get stabbed 

If there are any questions you have through then feel free to ask and one of us will get back to you as soon as we can.

Harland and Wolff

A picture depicting the Harland and Wolff ship building sight in Duncairn, Belfast. The inhabitants of Duncairn suffered greatly when deindustrialisation began putting many people out of jobs, this is one of the reasons why Duncairn still has high levels of deprivation. In the early 20th century the company had approximately 1500 employees during the period of building it’s ‘great liners’ (such as the Titanic) it now however has only 500. 

The people put out of a job at this time resulted in a whole generation of people finding it very difficult to try and get a job as they only had the skills for ship building. Such occurrences increase deprivation of areas and cause a downwardspiral of deprivation as the people without skills get trapped there and those who have skills and get jobs and more money move away.

There is optimism for the industry though as it is hoped that Harland and Wolff in Belfast will be the production centre for the UK’s proposed offshore wind turbines. It has also recently seen an increase in the amount of shipbuilding and repairs taking place leading to the re-commission of ‘Goliath’ the crane in 2007 after it was de-commissioned in 2003.

So here is what Geography taught me this week

Today during the wonders that is friday morning’s double geography lesson I learnt that the differences in windows (whether double glazed or not) cannot be easily perceived from google street view.

 HOWEVER the general condition and fitting of the window can be.

When talking about how fieldwork could possibly be carried out for belfast there are a few key facts to remember:

NEVER EVER could we visit there. (one theory to why, is simply that our geography teachers are just not dedicated enough to getting us the grades!)

the main limitations are that it would be impossible to question anyone without offending them on such delicate topics.

if carrying out research that involved going to many different sites it would be extremely difficult to find the time to do it before our exams.

here’s a few things to thing about what you could use instead on different categories:

social:

the use of other peoples data on this is key.

indepth data such as that found on the duncairn database also data found on websites such as NISRA have many key statistics.

http://tinyurl.com/65zbcln  (links to the statistics for the Duncairn area of Belfast)

google street maps and google earth. free and easy to navigate without having to even step out of a classroom (unless your 5minutes a day google map quota expires)

talk about EQA- an environmental quality assessment

if using a likert scale you need to remember that a detailed description of each factor,yes even the windows, would need to be explained to anyone else either interpreting your data or helping with data collection.

Week 2

Once again it’s been a slow week. My college has been on study leave from Monday to Thursday thus I’ve only had one lesson and that lesson was spent going through the mock exam we did. What I learnt from the mock is thatalways apply the basic geographical skills you’ve learnt doing other exams, case studies, tests etc. This will get you through an exam, it’s then just small bits of added knowledge which you need to be able to apply about the specific topic e.g. the exam which is coming up is on Belfast.

The basic exam layout is always the same, a mixture of shorter and longer answer questions. To get the best results you can you need to make sure that you leave enough time for the longer answer questions, these are the questions where the most marks can be made. When you’re answering the questions make sure that you understand the key word, what the question is actually asking you. There’s no point describing a graph if the question says explain. There’s also no point in writing a page for only a 5 marker. Each question is worth a certain amount of time, divide the number of minutes by the number of marks to get the number of marks per minute (roughly). The up-coming exam on Belfast is worth 1 mark every 1 and a half minutes. If you remember basic geographical exam skills and make sure you answer the question correctly then there’s no reason why everyone can’t get a good grade. 

After all this is the skills paper.

Week 1

Before I actually state what I learnt this week I thought I should explain how this blog has come about. During my lesson last week my teacher exclaimed that I should start a “What I learnt this week…” blog and tell the world about my “communist, android views” (it’s probably best not to ask). I then thought this would actually be a good idea to help for revision and “consolidate my learning” which is what the teachers always tell me to do and it might (hopefully) help other people doing geography as well. So this is my geography blog. 

It’s a bit ironic really, the first week and I have very little to write about. This is mainly because I only had two lessons one of which we did a mock exam and the other was focused on going through said mock exam. So I’ve actually learnt very little. What I have learnt is that I need to a lot more revision for this exam on Belfast which is coming up soon. Also (I’ll write about National Geographic a bit this week seeing as I don’t have a lot else to write about) the world’s population is expected to reach 7 billion this year and 9 billion by 2045. The world population is predicted to increase by 150,000 people each day for the next 40 years, that’s a hell of a lot of people. Where are we going to put them all and how are we going to feed them? How are we going to be able to supply the energy they need as fossil fuel reserves shrink?