The Thread of Life

The tree of human history. (1996)
Geographical distribution of humans.
From DNA to chromosome.
The national geographic interactive map.

For the listening exam, listen to this file and take notes.
These maps will help you understand the listening.

Grad Party

Please, let me know if you are coming to the Grad Party. It will be at 12:00 in the H cafeteria on Wed, June 25.

For Dimitris

This is only for Dimitris. Please, click here.

Expressing changes in number and rate

Situation 1: In Toronto in 1990 the population was 100 and the number of obese people was 10. In 2000 the population was 110 and the number of obese people was 11.

1. From 1990 to 2000, the total population in Toronto increased from 100 to 110.
2. The population of Toronto increased by 10%.
3. Although within the 10-year range, 1990 to 2000, the obesity rate in Toronto had stayed at 10%, it had increased to 20% in Hong Kong.
4. In TO, the population grew from 100 in 1990 to 110 in 2000, but the number of obese people changed from 10 to 11 in this decade.
5. In the decade beginning in 1990, the number of obese in Toronto rose by 10.
6. In the ten years ending in 2000, the number of obese in TO increased to 110.
7. In the ten years ending in 2000, the number of obese in TO remained at 10%.
8. In 1990 the amount of obese people in Hong Kong was 10 and it has incrased to 22 in 2000.

Situation 2: In Hong Kong in 1990 the population was 100 and the number of obese people was 10. In 2000 the population was 110 and the number of obese people was 22.

Situation 3: Other

1. From time 1 to time 2 the increased consumption of energy was from 10 to 20%.

Model Comparison

1. Differences between Shannon- Weaver model and Schramm's
   
   Two early models of communication are those of Schramm and Shannon-Weaver. In Schramn’s model, the components such as the source and destination are more clearly depicted than in the Shannon-Weaver model. Also, the concepts of encoder and decoder in Schramn’s model are unique because according to Schramm, a message needs to be encoded (in writing, speaking or filming) by the source and decoded by the receiver. In contrast, with the Shannon-Weaver model, the message is not encoded or decoded. Furthermore, Schramn’s model adds the idea that the source and receiver must have the same field of experience in order for the message to be clearly understood. On the other hand, the concept of noise, which includes anything that can interrupt a communication process, is unique to Shannon-Weaver’s. Although the models differ in some ways, many of the same terms are used to describe the communication process.
   
2. Many models of communication share similar aspects. There is one important similarity and a major difference between Schramm's Model and a model of intercultural communication that can be found in Devito (1996). Both of them have receiver and sender, so sources and receiver interact each other, which means they send and receive messages to and from each others. On the other hand, Schramm's model depitcts communication happening in the overlap bewteen fields of experience, but the model of intercultural communication did not mention any common areas between source and receiver. Overall, it appears that the Devito model was likely influenced by earlier models such as Schramm's.

Last listening

Here's the link for activity 24.

Communication Test Question

Here are the test questions that you have suggested:

1. Define interpresonal and mass communication. (copied answers are acceptable).
   "EXACT DEFINITION FROM TEXTBOOK"
2. Compare source in interperson and mass communication. (point form answers are acceptable)

• control (feedback, face to face, number of contributing people)
• linear (one source) vs. bidirectional (changing sources)
• individual source vs. team source

1. In a short paragraph, compare source in interpersonal and mass communication. (point form answers are NOT acceptable)

There are a number of differences in the source beteween interpersonal and mass communication. The first is the amount of control that the source has. In IP comm, the source usually has direct contact with the receiver, so immediate feedback is possible. The fact that the source is an individual also gives them total control over what they want to say. On the other hand, in mass communication, immediate feedback is rarely possible because there is very little interaction bewteen the source and receiver. Furthermore, the number of people who together make up the source is typically large, so it is a team and no one person makes all the decisions.

1. How are messages transfered between source and receiver?
   (e.g.,) using a channel such as your voice
2. In a short paragraph, explain the strengths of Shannon's model? (own opinion is OK, BUT... you need evidence)
   (introduction) The main strength of Sannon's model is the introduction of noise. This is a strength because it shows real communication, both successful and unsuccessful.
3. Give a simple graph of a communication process between a speaker and a large audience. (probably not on the test).
4. In a short paragraph, explain the similarities and differences between SW's and Shramm's models. (YES!!!!)
5. What is an example of semantic noise? (give me an EXAMPLE)
   A woman being distracted from the message by a good looking firefighter.
6. Explain about the effects of mass communication in your own words. (too general, not in the listening)
7. Give an example of how the field of experience aspect of Schramm's model explains failed/successful communication.
   
   When one person is communicating in their second language, their relevant field of experience (including vocabulary) would be much smaller than that of somebody communicating in their first language. As a result, there will be little overlap. When the message lies outside of the field of experience of the one person, the communication will be unsuccessful.

AW6 - Noun Clause Homework

Post your homework under "comments."

AW6 - Passive Homework

Post your homework answers under "comments." There is an example for you.

Weekend homework

• Begin work on your research project. By Tuesday, you should have finised most of your research and you should have a model ready to show to your classmates.
• Finish your graded reader and be ready to discuss it.
• Study vocabulary. For the next vocabulary test, I will ask for example sentences as well as meanings.
• Complete activities: 7, 23 & 22 (my extension is 3106)
• Repeat activities 9 and 13, Then transcribe the full lecture for activity 13. It's OK if you have some mistakes. I'll collect the transcription on Tuesday.

The listenings are here:

1. activity 8
2. activity 9
3. activity 12
4. activity 13

Comparing models

• Laswell's & SW's model show uni-directional way. However, Schramm's model show's bi-directional way.
• Communication without understanding is impossible. That is why all models have a device to analyse received information.
• Laswell model gives us before an information. Shannon model has not.
• Shannon model use the same symbol in the same field of experience with Schramm's model.
• Laswell and Schramm are different from model of developing human communication.
• In contrast, Laswell's model and Shannon's model are similar. However, Shannon's model has some difference, such as noise.
• There is a common area bewteen communicators in Schramm's model, but communicators don't have anything in common in Laswell's model.

• Laswell's & SW's models are uni-directional. Schramm's model, however, is bi-directional.
• Communication without understanding is impossible. That is why all models have a device to analyse received information.
• The SW model gives us the initial information. Laswell's model doesn't have this.
• Just as in Schramm's model, the Shannon Weaver model uses the word signal.
• Laswell and Schramm are different from model of developing human communication.
• Laswell's model and Shannon's model are similar. However, they have some differences, such as noise.
• There is a common area bewteen communicators in Schramm's model, but this area is not depicted in Laswell's model.

AW6 - Multi-Paragraph Format

Hello guys,

Here is the work you did today in class on writing a multi-paragraph paper. Each Introduction and Conclusion paragraph is followed by my comments (strengths and weaknesses), as you had asked. Study your work and my comments again for a better idea of how to write a separate Introduction and Conclusion paragraph. Post any questions under "comments."

Dimitri – Gosia – Junichi

Introduction:
Nowadays smoking is important issue in modern societies. However people are still smoking a lot even though it is forbidden in public places. There has to be some good effects of smoking. The three most important positive effects are reducing stress, forgetting problems, decrease appetite.

Strengths: introduces the topic; talks about the significance of the topic; has a clear thesis

Weaknesses: no transition between introduction and thesis statement; thesis is not parallel


Conclusion:
Overall, people are still smoking even though it has many negative effects. By smoking people can not only forget problems but also release stress and if smoking reduces stress why does the government have to restrict smoking in public places?

Strengths: ends with a though-provoking question; gives alternatives

Weaknesses: a bit short; no clear transition between sentences


Ugur – Felix – Yaneth

Introduction:
Most people around the world don’t care about their life because they can’t stop smoking. Smoking results in a lot of health problems for the human body. In addition by smoking people can get different diseases like cancer and respiratory problems. The negative effects of smoking cigarettes are damage the body, can create an addiction, and break up relationship.

Strengths: introduces the topic; discusses the importance of topic; clear TS

Weaknesses: TS is not parallel; first sentence is over-generalization; no smooth transition between Introduction and TS


Conclusion:
In conclusion people who smoke more than 100 cigarettes a month can die in less than 6 months. Smoking cigarettes has become a big negative effect on the society because many people have died in the past few years with different kinds of diseases.

Strengths: gives warning

Weaknesses: statistics is made up (needs a reliable source); over-generalizing; does not end in memorable way


Ayfer – Fahmieh – Shadab

Introduction:
More than half people around the world are addicted to smoking. All of these people know that smoking damages their bodies. Some of them try to quit it, but most of the time they face failure. Therefore, they should believe how much this small entity destroys their body. Oral diseases, lung cancer, and breath difficulty are three negative effects of cigarette smoking.

Strengths: introduces the topic; discusses the significance; has a clear TS

Weaknesses: not clear where data comes from (no source)


Conclusion:
In short, smokers should be aware of negative effects of this tiny friend. This so-called fried will not only spoil their body but also make their pockets empty in a friendly manner.

Strengths: gives caution; ends in memorable way (use of humour)

Weaknesses: too short


Igor – Kook

Introduction:
Many people have habit of cigarette smoking. Nowadays, most people think about only negative effects of smoking but smokers have their own view on this type of pastime. They do hard work so they have tension, stress, and are under pressure in society. This means cigarette smoking helps them in the following ways: increase government income, bring people closer to each other, and create employment.

Strengths: introduces the topic; presents an alternative point of view; has a clear TS

Weaknesses: points in TS do not have a logical connection to each other


Conclusion:
In conclusion, these ways help stop to think about the negative effects of smoking. By smoking, we can help to increase government income, bring people closer, and create employment. In other words, it can solve the social problems: overcrowding of Earth. It is true that smoking is good for you!

Strengths: summarizes the main points; ends in a creative and memorable way (uses humour and interesting ideas)

Weaknesses: a bit short, but overall a good conclusion

Communication Vocabulary

documents
sum
indicates
communication
identical
channel
instructions
modify
text
distribution
publication / publish
lecture
interact / interaction
designed
involve
major
team
role
define / definition
grade
professional
contact
link
image
diverse
similar / similarity
component
technology
index
culture
individual
available
aware
likewise
network
perspective
source
factors
economic
chapter
flexible
respond
constantly
whereas
traditionally
concept
contrast
liberal
definitely
process
physical
edition / editor
inaccurate
ongoing
negative
assume
media / medium
emphasizes

Life insurance companies

• Canada Life
• AIG Life
• Great-West Life
• Manulife

Homework

Please do exercise 16 and 19.

The results of sentence length on ease and interest

There is an interesting relationship between the average sentence length, interest level of sentence, and ease of understanding. As the length of the sentences becomes longer, on one hand, it reduces the ease of the sentences, so it makes the sentences difficult to understand. On the other hand, it increases the level of sentence interest. The scale of the average sentence length has a direct positive linear correlation with the scale of interest level and a negative correlation with the scale of ease. For example, at an avereage sentence length of three words, the interest level is only one whereas the ease is ten. In contrast, at a high average sentence length of 20 words, interest has increased to seven while ease has dropped to four.

APA Sources

Here's a powerpoint file explaining everything. Also, you can just put the information into this website, and it will make the reference for you.

Long Weekend Homework

1. Finish reading your graded reader & prepare to discuss it on Tuesday.
2. Study vocabulary and be ready for the vocabulary test at 8:05 on Tuesday. The test will have words from both the Hollywood list and the Business list.
   
3. Review the chapter on Hollywood. Listen again to all the lectures. Find things that you didn't hear before.
   
4. Reread "Management Defined" on pp. 102-107. Look for things that you didn't notice before.
   
5. Do exercises 10 & 12-15.
   

Management Summary C

Distingishing between the relationship of effectiveness and efficiency is important and a never ending dilemma for managers. Effectiveness entails promptly achieving a stated objectives. Efficiency means when the resource required to achieve an objective against the actually accomplishment.is limited as much as possible.

Management Summary B

Distinguishing between the relationship of effectiveness and efficiency is important and a never-ending dilemma for managers. Effectiveness entails promptly achieving a stated objective. Efficiency means weighing the resources require to achieve an objective against the actual accomplishment. Managers are responsible for balancing effectiveness and efficiency, which means they must avoid waste but not at the cost of not achieving objectives.

Management Summary A

Managers should balance effectiveness and efficiency. To be too effective or efficient can lead to mismanagement. Those who are too effective may waste resources. Consequently, it may cause bankruptcy. Other managers who are too efficient and focus too much on limiting to use of resources may not get the job done.

Business vocabulary

achieve/ achieving / achievable
acquisitions
adapt
alternative / alternatives
annual
approach (v)
approximately
attained
capacity
components
consequently
consultant
contributions
corporate
demonstrate
distributed
diversity / diverse
economics
establish/ established / establishing
ethical
evolution
factors
financial
focus
goals / goal-oriented
highlight
impact (n)
incorporate
initiative
input
integrated
interact
involve
labor
mode
objective
ongoing
overall
partnership
perceived
priority
relevance
require
resources
strategic / strategy

Business Vocabulary (Example sentences)

1. If managers' mode of communicating is good, their relationship with workers should be successful.
2. Annual accounting can help managers.
3. Acquiring (Aquisition of) an education is very improtant to have a good life.
4. Vegetables and fresh fruits are essential components of a good diet.
5. Many companies have diverse shifts.
6. I attained good grades on my final exam.
7. I have some alternative questions for the graduation exam.
8. He's ill. Consequently, he will not go to school.
9. I wanted to input this information into the PC.

AW6 - Reading for Wednesday

The Body’s Response to Stress – The General Adaptation Syndrome

Much of what we know about the body’s response to stress is the result of pioneering research by Hans Selye (1907-1982), the famed stress researcher known affectionately as “Dr. Stress.” Selye found that the body responds in a similar manner to various stressors – cold, noise, infectious agents, pressures on the job, or mental stress in the form of worry or anxiety. He recognized that specific stressors, such as an invading virus, do elicit specific reactions in the body. But layered over these specific responses is a more general response to stress, which he called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) (also called the stress response). The general adaptation syndrome consists of three stages, each of which we consider below.

Alarm Stage
The alarm stage is the body’s first stage of response to a stressor, during which its defenses prepare for action. Suppose a car ahead of you on the road suddenly veers out of control. This is an immediate stressful event. Your heart starts pounding faster, speeding the flow of blood to your extremities and providing muscles with the oxygen and fuel they need to take swift action, such as performing an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision. The body’s response during the alarm stage is called the fight-or-flight response because it is characterized by biological changes that prepare the body to deal with a threat by either fighting it off or fleeing from it.
The alarm stage is accompanied by strong physiological and psychological arousal. Our hearts pound, our breathing quickens, sweat pours down our foreheads, and we are flooded with strong emotions such as terror, fright, anxiety, rage, or anger.
Different stressful events may trigger the alarm stage of the GAS. The threat may be physical, as in an attach by an assailant, or psychological, as in an event that induces fear of failure (a professor handing out an examination, for example). In some people, the alarm is triggered whenever they meet a new person at a social gathering: they find themselves sweating heavily and feeling anxious, and they may become tongue-tied. In others, the body alarm system is activated whenever they visit the dentist. Whether the perceived threat is physical or psychological, the body’s response is the same.
The alarm stage is like a “call to arms” that is prewired into the nervous system. this wiring is a legacy inherited from our earliest anc3stors who faced many potential threats in their daily lives. A glimpse of a suspicious-looking object or a rustling sound in the bush might have cud them to the presence of a predator, triggering the fight-or-flight response, which helped prepare them to defend themselves against a threat. But the fight-or-flight response didn’t last long. If they survived the immediate threat, their bodies returned to their normal state. If they failed, they simply perished.



Resistance Stage
Death may occur within the first few hours or days of exposure to a stressor that is so damaging (such as extreme cold) that its persistence is incompatible with life. But if survival is possible and the stressor continues, the body attempts to adapt to it as best it can. Selye called this part of the GAS the resistance stage (also called adaptation stage). During this stage, the body attempts to return to a normal biological state by restoring spent energy and repairing damage. Yet arousal remains high, though not as high as during the alarm reaction. This prolonged bodily arousal may be accompanied by such emotional reactions as anger, fatigue, and irritability.

Exhaustion Stage
If the stressor persists, the body may enter the final stage of the GAS – the exhaustion stage. Heart rate and respiration now decrease to conserve bodily resources. Yet with continued exposure to stress, the body’s resources may become seriously depleted and the individual may develop what Selye called “diseases of adaptation” – stress-related disorders such as kidney disease, heart disease, allergic conditions, digestive disorders, and depression. Some people are hardier than others, but relentless, intense stress can eventually exhaust anyone.
A sensitive alarm system may have helped our ancient ancestors survive many of the physical threats they faced. Yet the alarm reaction was designed not to last very long. Our ancestors either escaped a predator or fought it off; within seconds, minutes perhaps, the threat was over and their bodies returned to their normal, pre-aroused state. The stresses of contemporary life are more persistent. Our ancestors didn’t need to juggle school and jobs, fight daily traffic jams, or face the daily grind of working a double shift to make ends meet. The reality for many of us today is that the stressful demands of everyday life may repeatedly activate our alarm reaction day after day, year after year. Over time, persistent stress may tax our bodies’ resources to the point where we become more susceptible to stress-related disorders.



From Nevid, J. S. (2003). Psychology Concepts and Applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 598-600.

Hollywood vs. Computers

• both using machines/technology
• both use patents
• inventions & inventors
• people wanted or needed the inventions (for entertainment)
• both tried to control the market
• both were sued
• both grew very quickly

1. both using machines/technology
2. inventions & inventors
3. both use patents
4. both grew very quickly, both tried to control the market, both were sued

Computer inventors and movie inventors followed the same paths to become popular.

The three similarities of the personal computer and Hollywood movies are: both grew very quickly, both tried to control the market, and both were sued.

The histories of the develpment of Hollywood and the Personal Computer have some similarities which make people think about every new invention. One similarity is that the personal computer industry and Hollywood movies are both based on machines or technology. In Hollywood, the important inventions were the movie camera and the projector. With computers, of course, the important invention is the computer itself. Not only were they both built on inventions, but those inventions were both protected using patents. In Hollywood, for example, the MPPC used patents to control who made movies and sell more of their product. With the PC,...

Exercise 24

1. Women showed their freedom by wearing shorter skirts.
   They can spend more money.
   They could make movies with prostitution, drugs, and other things like that.
2. It stood for the Motion Picture Production Code.
3. Words with sexual meanings and long kisses were banned.
   Two aspects of movies that were banned were sexual images and sexual language.
4. a
5. a
6. The MPPDA was a self-regulating orgainziation in that it didn't want government rules, so they formed their own organization to control themselves.
7. Because it was a depression, people had many troubles and went to see movies to forget their problems. Also, movies were cheap, which made them affordable for people in bad economic times.

Extra Speaking Practice

In the writing centre F201: Mondays 9:55-10:45 & Wed, 1:35-2:25
Cost: Freeeeee!

No appointment needed.

Homework

1. Watch this trailer from the movie, Chaplin. Then watch some clips from The Great Dictator and some from Modern Times. Finally, write 200 words (double spaced) about your reaction to everything you've watched. Don't summarise it; just say how it made you feel and what it made your think.
2. Finish your graded reader and be ready to talk about it on Tuesday.
3. Chose one of the two lectures and write out 5 minutes of it word-for-word. In other words, take dictation.
4. Prepare for the vocabulary test on Tuesday.
5. Prepare for the listening test on Wednesday. There are practice questions on the second last page of your textbook.

Learn to type

If you're not a good typist, you might try Learn2Type.com.

Hollywood Summary Group A

History of Movie Production

Thomas Edison, an American inventor, worked with a British inventor William Dickson and together they invented the kinetoscope, patented in 1891, which showed films. People watched first movie by using kinetoscope in 1894 in New York City. During 1894 kinetoscope was used in London, Berlin, and Paris. Edison thought he would make a lot of money with the kinetoscope. Other inventors, the Lumiere brothers, invented the cinematographe in 1895. Their invention was different from the kinetoscope because many people were able to watch a movie at the same time. People weren't used to seeing moving pictures, and these made them scared. Thomas Armat patented a projector in 1896. Edison acquired it and renamed it the "Edison vitascope." The projector made lots of money and controlled movies.

Hollywood summary group C

History OF MOVIE PRODUCTION
part 1
Seeing movie ia a popular these days and many people are interested in the history of movie production. There is some information about movies from the beginning. This history have been started fromat the end of the 19th century. A producers need a camera and a projector. The former is for making movies and the latter one for showing movies. Who did invent them? Thomas Edison was a famous inventor in the U.S bacause he invented electric lamp and phonograph. Also he was patent which means he could make or sell invention even he didn't create them.Thomas Edison was patent holder for a camera in the U.S. Edison and his friend, William Dickson, worked on two kinds of machines. One of them was, the kinetograph, which recorded movement and make made the movies. Last one was, and the kinetoscope, which was used for viewing the movie. Edison hadgot the right to make and sell the kinetoscope in 1891 and three years later in 1894 this machine was shown to the public in New York city. Every person for seeing movie needs an individual kinetoscope to watch a movie, which means limitation for earning money for Edison.

InOn the other hand, the projector invented by the Lumiere brothers in France in 1895 which lets many people see movies at the same time. Also they were film makers and they made the first movie. It was in a train, but people thought the train was coming toward them, and therfore they were scared. The Lumire brothers were top of the list at making movies, so Edison got jelous of them.

In 1896, Edison wasbecame the ownerpatent holder of the projector patent in 1896 which was invented by Thomas Armat in the U.S. Edison had a very good feeling about himself, so he put his name on the projector. After that he earned money and controlled on the movie industries.

Hollywood summary Group B

The history of movie production have been starting started at the end of 19th century. There were several inventors. The first was well known American inventor Thomas Edison who patented over 1,000 invenstions in the United State and also invented the electric phonograph. Also, he He worked with British inventer William Dickson on the kinetograph, which was useing used to record movement, and the kinetoscope which was useing used to view films. In 1891 Thomas Edison patented the kinetoscope which went on sale three years later commarcally available in New York. Before 1894 it was useing used in London, Berlin and Paris. One Kinetoscope was used for only one person so, because Edison thought if he could make a lot of money in his life that way.

Furthermore, Other inventors, the Lumiere brothers in 1895 invented the first projector in 1895 in France which was called the cinematograph in France. Many people could watch a film at the same time by with this machine. Also the Lumiere brothers were film makers. Their first movie was about a train.

Thomas Ediston patented the projector which was invented by Thomas Armat. He renamed it the Edison Vitascope with the plan to make a lot of money and control the movie industry.

Hollywood Cloze

Try out this activity.

Listening Files

Here are the files for the listening unit on movies:
page 6, activity 6
p 8, ac 9
p 10, ac 11
p 10, ac 12-1
p 10, ac 12-2
p 23, ac 24

Time words

1. I want to go to shopping today but prior to I have to go to school.
2. I want to go to go shopping today but prior to (that, going, shopping) I have to go to school.
3. When I back home, subsequently, I prepared dinner.
4. When I go back home, subsequently, I prepared dinner.
5. I have two classes today. Former is writing class and the latter is lab classes.
6. I have two classes today. The former is writing class and the latter is lab classes.
7. I will go to prior to cinema.
8. I will go shopping prior to going to the cinema.
9. Prior to doing homework, I usually eat some cookies.
10. From the Swiss Challet and Mandarin restaurants, I prefer the latter.
11. Prior to coming to Canada, I thought life would be easy there.
12. Prior to writing TOEFL, I must go to a TOEFL class.
13. The food fell on me and subsequently I went to wash myself.
14. From these two dishes, I like the former.
15. I came to my home. Subsequently, I prepared dinner.

Hollywood vocabulary

accessible
accompany
acquire
appropriate (adj)
area
aspect
aware
challenging (adj)
code
constitutional
convinced
couple
created, creator
credit (n. positive words or feelings)
criteria
decades
definition
depression (in economics)
distributed, distributing, distribution, distributors
device
economic, economy
equipment
exhibition
factors (n)
filed
finally
financially
former
guarantee
immigrants
individual (adj)
initial (adj)
involvement
labor (n)
latter
legal
located, locations
migration
obvious, obviously
occurred
partners (n)
period (time)
predict
prior
project (v)
prospects (n)
regulate, regulations, regulatory
released
roles
sex, sexual
shift (n; change)
site (n)
subsequently

News related to the human history based on mtDNA

I found this news on google and
I think this article might be helpful if you are interested in biology or history.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1357216/humans_narrowly_escaped_extinction_70000_years_ago/

Sample answers to exam prep questions

9. Scientists know that people leave tools, bones and other evidence behind wherever they live. If a group of humans is moving in one direction, then the anthropological evidence we find should be older in the areas they first inhabited and newer in areas that were inhabited later. Based on this, scientists can guess at the direction of movement using the ages of the remains they find. (Scientists have to be careful because they can never know if they have found the oldest evidence from a particular area.)

12. (Some people have tried to use evidence of genetic differences to justify racist policies and views. But when we understand that all humans are closely connected, we should realize that racism and prejudice arefoolish. We should treat all humans as if they were our brothers and sisters.

Quirks & Quarks

The listening file is here. Ladd's website is here.

Please, listen and transcribe any 2-minute section from the interview.

Summary of chapter 8

Chromosomes which are located within the nucleus of almost all cells contain important genetic information. They comprise genes that are made of nucleotides which carry one of for nitrogen-based molecules(A,T,C and G) and are connected with each other in one of only two kinds of pairings to form the rungs of spiral, ladderlike structure called DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid.

Eugene

Brett's summary

From smallest to largest units we have nucleotides (A, T, C, & G), base pairs (2 nucleotides; AT or CG), genes (a collection of base pairs that code for something, typically with 1,000 base pairs), chromosomes (with billions of genes), cell nucleus (with 23 pairs of chromosomes), cells, and humans (with trillions of cells). The first four are all DNA at different levels and combinations.

Summary/paraphrase 3

Every organism is composed of cells which have chromosomes that carry genetic information. The genes on the chromosome determine the production of enzymes and proteins in the cell. The genes are composed of four different chemicals called nucleotides that contain (A, T, C, G).

Summary/paraphrase 2

Every living organism is composed of trillions of cells. The chromosomes in cell carry critical information about their functioning. Genes determine the production of enzymes and specific proteins in the cell. These are made up of four different chemicals called nucleotides that contain one of four molecules.The nucleotides link together in one of two kinds of pairings to form the structure called DNA. Each gene has a specific pairs of nucleotide according to different order on DNA ladder that we call the chromosomes. Therefore, every gene is different from each other.

The thread of life: pictures, maps, and listening

The tree of human history. (1996)
Geographical distribution of humans.
From DNA to chromosome.
The national geographic interactive map.
For the listening exam, listen to this file and take notes.
These maps will help you understand the listening.

Compare / Contrast Topics

Here are the topics for your in-class writing test on Thursday, April 18. You must bring to class with a one-page, typed outline (in point form) and hand it in to me with your paper. I will deduct marks for papers without a proper, typed outline. You can use a paper Engilsh-English dictionary during the test.

Check under "comments" for the topics.

Communication audio files

Activity 8
Activity 9
Activity 12
Activity 13
Activity 24

Final Exam Schedule - AW6

Final Writing Exam: Wednesday April 23 at 8:05 in JB110

Final Grammar Exam: Thursday April 24 at 8:05 in JB110

Final exam schedule

Final Reading Exam Friday, April 25 @ 8:05
Final Listening/Note-taking Monday, April 28 @ 8:05

Noun Clauses - AW6

Post your work under "comments."

Activity 30 (group B)

(Remove things in red and add things in blue.)

1. Reading section number 1 " Obesity and Being Overweight" because it presents a lot of number of useful reserches and facts about obesity such as (give examples). In contrast, the other readings ...
2. Yes. we were surprised about the list of the countries in which obesity has increased. For example, North Africa , Asia. We didn't expect them to be in the list because...
3. Reasons number 9 and number 10. These reasons are presented in the reading mentioning the higher proportion of fats, saturated fats and sugars. And at the same time , large shifts towards less physically activities.
4. we think the most difficult problem to overcome is that children are more engaged in indoor activities like watching television, computer games and doing less physical activity. This will be hard because...
5. No, we think that we need someone as a doctor or a nutritionist, who can explain to us how the food guides can help us in a right way. Therefore, we get enough and correct information about how to use the food pyramid in our real life.

Activity 30 (group C)

Remove things in red and add things in blue.

1. Selection one includes more information about being overweight and obesity than other selections. There are many facts that show us details data such as amount of overweight adults and kids. In contrast, the other articles...
   
2. Surprising information in selection 1. obesity problem is globally and extends into the developing world. Currently obesity increse is increasing in countries where the economy is growing fast such as China, Thiland, and Samoa.
3. In selection 2 there are two reasons for obesity and being overweight. First one is a lack of physical activity and next one is bad nutrition habits. Those reasons are the same in both selections.
4. Both causes are difficult to solve. people need more education about healthy food.
5. Yes Models are very well prepared for people to understand.

Activity 30 (group A)

1-. The first reading expresses the problem of global obesity more strongly than other readings because it shows more specific details such as percents, numbers and concret examples about this problem.

2-. Yes, we were. China is a surprise for us. What we thought about obesity in China was that they had a small number of obese people and also one of the lowest obesity rates in the world. Also, this is a suprise for us because it supposes China has different eating customs from American people. But according to the reading, the situation has been changing rapidly since 1980. This is the reason why we choose China from those many countries in the list.

3-. To mention their ideas, they use references like CNN and an opinion of a doctor in Delhi, and they let us know the certain number in examples of obesity. The most plausible reasons is the children don't have education about nutritional needs. (Why?) This influences in their lifestyles.
Yes. they did

4-. We think the hardest part to change in this problem is eating customs. People have been used to their lifestyle since they were born. And it's not easy to change their patterns in a short time.

5-. Yes, they do. Because people can look at the information in the reading such as graphs like piramids and compare it with their own diet pyramid. By comparing, we can realize which are enough or not, and we can improve our eating customs.

-Nina, Valentina, Eugene

Obesity Cloze

Try this exercise.

APA machine

This website will help you format your list of references. But it might make mistakes, so you should check the output if you use it.

Comparing Asian diet pyramid with Latin American diet pyramid.

For Asians, rice is a traditional food, so it's one of the daily foods. On the other hand, in Latin America, vegetables are used along side with daily food. Second, in Asia fish and shellfish are optional daily use; it means you may or may not use them every day. Despite that, in Latin America, they are daily foods. In Asia, these days meat is daily food, but in Latin America it is weekly food. Generally speaking, both diet are quite the same in using types of food; however, frequency and amount of using them are different.

Compare Asian and Latin deit pyramid

There are a number of differences between the Asian food pyramid and the Latin one. First, they are divided differently. The Asian pyramid has four different frequencies and Latin only three. Asian has 9 different food groups and Latin has 7 different groups. On the other hand, each kinds of the first pyramid is not together,such as fruits which are apples, pears,and banana.However,each kinds of the second pyramid is together,such as whole grains,tubers, beans, and nuts. Asian eats meat by monthly but, Latin eats meat weekly. Moreover,Asian eats rice and noodles,but Americans are not.

Asian VS Latin american --- rahul magda Kevin

There are a number of similarities between asian diet and traditional healthy Latin American diet. Both diets are based on rice, noodles, whole grains products and vegetables. Also those dites includes significant amounts of fish and shellfish, diary products and poultry. Meat and sweets are on the top of the diet pyramid; that means people don't often eat those products. If we talk about daily beverage recommendations, Asian people prefer more tea; however, Latin Americans prefer water. Furthermore both diets are supported by daily physical activites. In conclusion, Both diet pyramids look very healthy and built to prevent obesity.

Comparing the Diet Pyramid with our diets

-Iryna, Nina, Eugene

What we are going to do is compare the differences and similarities in diet between our own and the Pyramid that we take from the chapter.
First, we look at the "Latin American Diet Pyramid". Unlike the pyramid, we have an opposite idea in "At Every Meal" section. For instance, we usually eat cereal or breads for our breakfast and sandwich for our lunch. When we can usually have vegetables and fruits is dinner. So we insist that the name of the section "At Every Meal" should be changed with "Daily". In addition, we do eat fish or shellfish once or twice a week. Instead we have meat for almost every single day. We think it's better place "Meat" in "Optional Daily" and "Fish and Shellfish" into "Weekly". And we strongly agree with take a "Daily Physical Activity".
Next, we focus on the "The Vegetarian Food Pyraimd". What the most impressive point of this graph that we get is that they eat much more than we thought before.

Comparing early movie industry to early personal computer ind.

There are a number of interesting similarities between the early movie industry and the personal computer industry. First of all, in both cases there were competing inventors. With movies we had Edison vs. the Lumiere brothers, while in computers, we have Bill Gates and Microsoft vs. Steve Jobs and Mike Wozniak of Apple. Edison and Apple were the first to make their respective machines, but soon the other inventors were making competing technology which was better. For example, Edison's viewer was only good for one person, while the French projector allowed many people to watch. Similarly, Apple's first designs were soon improved on by their competitors. Of course, in both situations, we have the use of patents to protect the rights of the inventor and in both situations there were attempts to control the market. In the case of movies, the control was through the MPPC, while Microsoft tried to control the market by giving away free software as part of its OS. In both cases, governments eventually became concerned about the monopolistics nature of the businesses and both the MPPC and Microsoft eventually were judged to be monopolies and forced to give up much of their power. Thus, we can see that both industries followed much the same path.

Listening test potential questions

1. What are the reasons for the move out west?
2. What's the reason the MPPC didn't give any credit to actors for the movie?
3. What rules did the MPPC have?
4. What does MPPC stand for?
5. When was the MPPC formed by Edison and 9 other producers?
6. Why did they move from the NJ to CA?
7. Who wanted to monopolize the movie industry on the east coast?
8. What are other reasons for the move to CA?
9. Who invented the kinetoscope?
10. When was the first studio in Hollywood built?
11. When and why did the MPPC lose their power?

Activity 24 link

Here's the lecture for activity 24.

Advertising Methods - AW6

Hi all,

Please read this article for our class on Thursday (March 27).

Noun Clause Homework - AW6

Post your homework under "comments."

Homework for Tuesday

Listening: Activity 6, activty 12 part 1 & part 2
Finish your graded reader & be ready for the discussion on Tuesday.

The Lumiere brother's films are here.

The Great Dictator

Watch this trailer from the movie, Chaplin. Then watch this clip and clips from The Great Dictator. Finally, write two pages (double spaced) about your reaction to everything you've watched. Don't summarise it; just say how it made you feel and what it made your think.

Hollywood vocabulary

accessible
accompany
acquire
appropriate (adj)
area
aspect
aware
challenging (adj)
code
constitutional
convinced
couple
created, creator
credit (n. positive words or feelings)
criteria
decades
definition
depression (in economics)
distributed, distributing, distribution, distributors
device
economic, economy
equipment
exhibition
factors (n)
filed
finally
financially
former
guarantee
immigrants
individual (adj)
initial (adj)
involvementlabor (n)
latter
legal
located, locations
migration
obvious, obviously
occurred
partners (n)
period (time)
predict
prior
project (v)
prospects (n)
regulate, regulations, regulatory
released
roles
sex, sexual
shift (n; change)
site (n)
subsequently

Summary 3

1.What is a summary? Give your own definiton.
It explains what article is talking about, and let you easier to understand these article.

2.How can writing a summary help you to understand a textbook better?
NO matter what there are so many paragrphs without reading all, you can guess what they suppossed to tell you or you can save time to understand a text book,because a summary show you an important contents.

3.How can writing a summary help you to prepare for a test?
You should explain which things are important, and let you understand what the article is talking about.

These are fine, but they were not what I was looking for.

Summary 4

According to the article, there is a difference between race and ethnicity. Sociologists who are studying human behaviour, origins, and the development of human society explain race is based on physical differences among people resulting from inherited biological traits; however, ethnic groups are based on cultural factors such as national origin, religion, language, norms, and values. In some coutures such as the U.S. people are recognized by race and ethnicity and classified as minority group.

This is a good summary of the introduction though it's not a summary of the section in question.

Summary 2

-Characteristics of Minority Groups.
Minority groups suffers discrimination by the dominant group.Minority groups and can be divided into typically share four identifying characteristics:

a. Shared Physical or Cultural Characteristics.
Minorities are recognized by physical and cultural similarities, for example, race, religion, language and customs.

b. Ascribed Statuses.
People from the minority group didn't choose to be born into it.

c. Group Solidarity.
Members of the minority groups stick together when they feel being attacked by the dominant group.

Summary 1

Sociologists recognize minority groups using the following four factors. Shared physical and cultural characteristics are the first way to identify a minority. Minorities share physical and cultural similarities such as race and customs. The second group of factors are ascribed statuses(inherited factors). This means that people do not choose to join a minority. Instead they are born into it. Group solidarity (support or camaraderie) is a feeling in a group of people in a society that they want to support each other versus prejudice or discrimination from the dominant group or from other minority groups. Finally, we have endogamy. This describes a situation in which people generally marry a member within the group.

Vocabulary Exercise

Click here.

Revising Sentences for Parallel Structure

1,The editor told her the writing was interesting, accurate,but not concise.

2. The journalist researched the story, wrote a first draft, and took it to the editor for changes.

3. She was undecided about continuing in her present job, quitting to look for a new job, or being
able to ask her supervisor for some changes.

4. William is not only a gifted painter, but he is also gifted teacher.

5.The child's demeanour, his actions, and whenever he talked amused me.( I have no idea..Y.Y)

6. Employers should look for people who are competent, honest, and cooperate is a quality
they possess.

7. The gambler must either stop going to the casinos or riscking the ruination of her entire family.

8. The young lawyer would rather work seven days a week than spend one day with his
mother-in-law.

9. The kitchen faced a brick wall, wasn't able to get any fresh air, and was painted an ugly
dark colour.

10. I would rather visit the East Coast than go to Alberta this year.

Marrying between races

Do minorities marry down socially to marry "up" racially? Check out this article. What do you think? Leave your comments.

Homework

1. Study vocabulary
2. Read your graded reader (We'll discuss these on Tuesday, so make sure you're finished by then)
3. Listen to the program about mixed race and do the following:
1. Transcribe 2 minutes (in other word, write down exactly what they say). Choose a 2-minute section close to the beginning.
2. Answer these questions (I'll post these later)
1. ...
   
4. Complete the exercises on pp. 32-34
5. Read the reading on pp. 37-42
   

Tests for Class A

1. Chapter Test (Readings 2 & 3) on Thursday, March 20.
2. Vocabulary test on Monday, March 24.

Useful chunks

The following chunks are taken from "Understanding race and ethnicity" on pp. 14 to 19.

Before clicking on these, go here and click OK.

1. ... raises the question of ...
2. ... is based on ...
   
3. ... may be true
   
4. ...In order to ...
5. as you can see
6. ... is a matter of ...
7. If current trends continue ...
8. as with (the concept of ...), ...
   
9. (be) bound together by ...
10. set (such groups) apart
11. as long as ..., ...
    
12. but not necessarily
13. (two) factors account for (this)
14. (behaviour) ranging from ... to ...
15. ... kept (people) from ~ing
16. the process by which ...

Parallel Structure Homework - AW6

Post your homework under "comments."

I've done the first one for you as an example.

Short answers from p 9

1. By studying an academic major as a way to gain depth of study in college, you will pay careful and deep attention in one of the college majors. But by breadth, you will have a general view about a wider variety of subjects in the college. To gain this breadth, they can study different subjects such as sciences, math, humanities, English, and social science. Having both breadth and depth, students will have a better general knowledge about different subjects so they can related them and have a better overall understanding.
2. Distribution requirements, are general subjects, outside of a student's own major, that colleges and universities say students must take to build up a base of knowledge and build breadth of understanding. Examples are the same as in #1.

Studying Sociology for Breadth & Depth

Try this cloze activity.

Homework - AW6

Verb Tense Homework

Post your work under "comments."

Guess the race / nationality

Try these two tests: Test 1, Test 2.

Welcome

Welcome to Level 6 from your teachers Brett and Hamid.

Most of what you will find here is course-related material. But we can also use this space to share ideas, thoughts, or questions.

We look forward to a great semester together.

Good luck everyone.

Interesting interactive map

You don't need this for the exam, but you might be interested to check out the map of our history.

Free language practice

I haven't used this site, but it looks interesting.

Grad Party

Nancy wrote,

Please let your classes know that our grad event will be on Wed. Feb. 27 from 12:00 noon until 3:00pm. Please tell that it includes lunch. This is our karaoke party so please let me know if you are interested in singing something. And one last thing....can the 12-hour professors please let me know by next Thursday (Feb. 21) how many students will be coming from their levels?

Thanks a lot, Nancy

The human tree

Blood types

Vocab practice

Try this exercise.

8:00 class

The roads near my house haven't been plowed and I my car can't get through. As soon as the plow comes by, I'll post a message and leave.

It's 7:00 now and I still can't get out. It takes me over an hour to get to school, so I don't think we'll have class this morning.

New Homework

For Thursday, please do the following exercises:

• Activity 11
• Activity 14
• Activity 17
  

Homework for Tuesday

Complete the following exercises:

1. Activity 8
2. Activity 9
3. Activity 10 (you can take notes on a blank piece of paper if that's easier)
4. Activity 12 (we'll do part 3 in class)

I strongly recommend using activity 10 for dictation practice.

Homework

Sorry, I posted this earlier today, but I put it in the wrong place.

For tomorrow, please do Activities 4, 6, & 7 in the new chapter "Do we watch TV for Free?"

SNOW DAY

A big storm is coming and I might not be able to go to school on Friday. Please, check here before you go to class.

hi

Next week

Monday:

1. hand in the transcript of your presentation practice
2. if you'd like feedback on your answers, hand in exercises 14, 15, 19, & 21 (test preparation)

Tuesday:

1. graded reader discussion
2. vocabulary test (all vocabulary to date)

Wednesday:

1. Reading test:

• bring 1 page of notes about "Understanding Race & Ethnicity" (one side of regular paper in regular-sized writing); point-form notes are probably best
  
• bring 1 page of notes about "Life as an Alien"; paragraph-form notes might be best; consider basing your notes on the questions on p. 44.
• There will be a new reading on the test
  

For Friday

On Friday, we will discuss the chapter a bit more. Then you will have time to discuss your presentation with other groups. You should at least have an outline of your presentation.

Hand in:

1. Four references in APA format
2. graded reader discussion transcription

Conversation & pronunication

The writing centre is running extra classes. If you're interested, please look here.

APA style

For Friday, you'll need to give me your list of sources in APA style. We'll practice APA style on Wed. in class. You can also check out the examples here. There's also a website that will help you put the information in the right format.

Homework for Tuesday, Jan 22

Today, we took up the test. If you didn't pass (i.e., <60%), send me an e-mail explaining the reason you think you didn't pass (e.g., I wasn't able to understand the lecture; I didn't know how to answer the questions; I didn't study; my answers were too short; I knew what the answer was, but I couldn't write it; etc.). Also, tell me what you plan is to pass the next exam. I would recommend that you rewrite the test at home and hand it in to me so that I can tell you how to improve.

We also discussed the research project. If you need help with it, please let me know soon.

Finally, tomorrow, you have a test on the first half of the vocabulary list, and we'll be doing our second set of graded reader discussions. Please, come prepared with a good idea of what you'd like to talk about.

Advertising Methods - Reading

As I mentioned in class, you are responsible for reading and fully understanding this article by Wednesday, January 23. I've assigned groups for different sections of the article. Each group is responsible for presenting one section of the article. Please follow these guidelines:

1. Your presentation must not be more than 5 minutes.
2. Make sure everyone understands your section of the article (are there difficult / unknown words that you need to define? Should you make your ideas clear with an example? etc.).
3. Leave time for possible questions.
4. Each member of the group should participate in the presentation (speak, answer questions, etc.)

Groups:

Sam - Duncan: Intorcution: Advertising Methods
Nao - Ahmed: Making Stimuli Pleasant
Karina - Ratha: Using Music
Marta - Tony: Using Humour
Fumie - Andres: Making Stimuli Surprising
Erhan - Stephen: Using Novetly
Nurdan - Shilian: Using Unexpectedness
Suna - Young - Nicok: Making Stimuli Easy to Process

This will count as 5% of your written assignment on Advertisment.

Research Project

The project description is here.

Homework for Friday

1. Study vocab 1-51 (we'll have a test next Tuesday on these words, plus all the words from the Hollywood list).
2. Read your graded reader #2
3. Do exercises 4 & 5 in the Race chapter.
4. Read over the article on pp. 14-19 (just a quick read is fine).
   

Summaries

1. The lecture is about the history of movie production. The lecturer first gave the introduction of the inventors and inventions related to movie production. Thomas Edison should definitely be given credit as he invented the kinetograph and kinetoscope. Subsequently, the Lumiere brothers made a further advance by inventing the first projector in 1896 so that more people could watch a movie simultaneously.
   
   Then the lecturer continued to talk about the monopoly of the movie inducstry in the 20th century. She gave a brief history of the MPPC and the rules it had set in order to maximize profit. However, its harsh restrictions caused discontent among other movie producers.
   
   Finally, the lecturer analyzed the factors for the migration of movie producers west to California, a result of the monopoly in the movie industry and the advantages California had. The lecture drew to an end by including other important events in Hollywood in the early 20th century.
   
   
2. The end of the 19th century was the beginning of cinematography. In 1891, Thomas Edison invented and patented the kinetoscope, which was first used on April 14, 1894 in NYC. In 1895, the Lumiere brothers invented the first cinematographe projector. Then, in 1896, Thomas Edison patented the rights to another projector which was invented by Thomas Armat. Next, in 1908, Edison and 9 other producers form the MPPC. In 1911, the first movie studio was built in California. There were 15 studios by 1912 and in the same year the government started investigating the MPPC. Finally, the MPPC lost power in 1915 after Paramount, Universal, and Fox filed suit against it.
   

Homework for Tuesday

• study for the vocab test
• prepare for graded reader discussion
• Finish Chaplin Homework (if you haven't already)
• Read p. 6-7 in "Race" chapter

Homework for Monday

1. Watch this trailer from the movie, Chaplin. Then watch this clip. Then watch clips from The Great Dictator. Finally, write two pages (double spaced) about your reaction to this. Don't summarise it; just say what it made you think or feel.
2. Review reading from p. 7
3. Do Activity 24.
4. Read sections 1.1 to the end of 1.4 of the history of Hollywood here.
   
5. Review all lectures.
6. Prepare for vocabulary test on Tuesday.
7. Prepare for graded reader discussion on Tuesday: finish reading your graded readers from the library and be ready to spend 5 minutes explaining about it.
   

Listening test (possible questions)

1. When was the first studio built? (1/2)
2. In a short paragraph, explain why the MPPC started. Discuss Edison's own reasons, but also look at the general situation in the USA at the time. (5)
3. Give five reasons why many movie producers moved to LA? (2.5)
4. When did the MPPC lose its power? (1/2)
5. Why did the lecturer mention Ford and Rockefeller? (3)
6. What steps led to the MPPC losing its power? (3)
7. Why did the inventor of the kinetoscope want short movies? (2)
8. What are the reasons that made the govn't start looking at the MPPC? (2)
9. Who formed the MPPC? (1/2)
10. What is the difference between the kinetograph and the kinetoscope?
11. Why did Thomas Armat work with Edison?

Listening homework for Friday

Listen to Activity 11 and Activity 12 part 1. Listen to each of these a number of times. If you have extra time, consider using one of these as dictation practice. I'll check your transcription if you hand it in to me. You can also review Activity 9.

Study your vocabulary and read your graded reader.

Reading for AW6

The Body’s Response to Stress – The General Adaptation Syndrome

Much of what we know about the body’s response to stress is the result of pioneering research by Hans Selye (1907-1982), the famed stress researcher known affectionately as “Dr. Stress.” Selye found that the body responds in a similar manner to various stressors – cold, noise, infectious agents, pressures on the job, or mental stress in the form of worry or anxiety. He recognized that specific stressors, such as an invading virus, do elicit specific reactions in the body. But layered over these specific responses is a more general response to stress, which he called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) (also called the stress response). The general adaptation syndrome consists of three stages, each of which we consider below.

Alarm Stage
The alarm stage is the body’s first stage of response to a stressor, during which its defenses prepare for action. Suppose a car ahead of you on the road suddenly veers out of control. This is an immediate stressful event. Your heart starts pounding faster, speeding the flow of blood to your extremities and providing muscles with the oxygen and fuel they need to take swift action, such as performing an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision. The body’s response during the alarm stage is called the fight-or-flight response because it is characterized by biological changes that prepare the body to deal with a threat by either fighting it off or fleeing from it.
The alarm stage is accompanied by strong physiological and psychological arousal. Our hearts pound, our breathing quickens, sweat pours down our foreheads, and we are flooded with strong emotions such as terror, fright, anxiety, rage, or anger.
Different stressful events may trigger the alarm stage of the GAS. The threat may be physical, as in an attach by an assailant, or psychological, as in an event that induces fear of failure (a professor handing out an examination, for example). In some people, the alarm is triggered whenever they meet a new person at a social gathering: they find themselves sweating heavily and feeling anxious, and they may become tongue-tied. In others, the body alarm system is activated whenever they visit the dentist. Whether the perceived threat is physical or psychological, the body’s response is the same.
The alarm stage is like a “call to arms” that is prewired into the nervous system. this wiring is a legacy inherited from our earliest anc3stors who faced many potential threats in their daily lives. A glimpse of a suspicious-looking object or a rustling sound in the bush might have cud them to the presence of a predator, triggering the fight-or-flight response, which helped prepare them to defend themselves against a threat. But the fight-or-flight response didn’t last long. If they survived the immediate threat, their bodies returned to their normal state. If they failed, they simply perished.



Resistance Stage
Death may occur within the first few hours or days of exposure to a stressor that is so damaging (such as extreme cold) that its persistence is incompatible with life. But if survival is possible and the stressor continues, the body attempts to adapt to it as best it can. Selye called this part of the GAS the resistance stage (also called adaptation stage). During this stage, the body attempts to return to a normal biological state by restoring spent energy and repairing damage. Yet arousal remains high, though not as high as during the alarm reaction. This prolonged bodily arousal may be accompanied by such emotional reactions as anger, fatigue, and irritability.

Exhaustion Stage
If the stressor persists, the body may enter the final stage of the GAS – the exhaustion stage. Heart rate and respiration now decrease to conserve bodily resources. Yet with continued exposure to stress, the body’s resources may become seriously depleted and the individual may develop what Selye called “diseases of adaptation” – stress-related disorders such as kidney disease, heart disease, allergic conditions, digestive disorders, and depression. Some people are hardier than others, but relentless, intense stress can eventually exhaust anyone.
A sensitive alarm system may have helped our ancient ancestors survive many of the physical threats they faced. Yet the alarm reaction was designed not to last very long. Our ancestors either escaped a predator or fought it off; within seconds, minutes perhaps, the threat was over and their bodies returned to their normal, pre-aroused state. The stresses of contemporary life are more persistent. Our ancestors didn’t need to juggle school and jobs, fight daily traffic jams, or face the daily grind of working a double shift to make ends meet. The reality for many of us today is that the stressful demands of everyday life may repeatedly activate our alarm reaction day after day, year after year. Over time, persistent stress may tax our bodies’ resources to the point where we become more susceptible to stress-related disorders.



From Nevid, J. S. (2003). Psychology Concepts and Applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 598-600.

Welcome

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Level 6 and to our weblog. This is where you will find material related to your classes from Brett and Hamid. Make sure you check here regularly in order to keep up to date with what is going on in both your classes.

Good luck and have a great semester.

Level 6 teachers Brett and Hamid