Resource Management Project Abstract

Water is a resource that has been an integral part of society since the inception of civilized life. It is impossible for humans to survive without water to drink, cook, and use in industries. Since the start of the industrial revolution and the creation of machines that have made our lives easier, we have been using large amounts of water carelessly. Today, we are dangerously close to no longer having enough water for everything it is used for. We are draining aquifers in the ground at too fast of a rate and for them to be replenished, we are creating dams and ruining natural ecosystems, and are sucking rivers and lakes dry. If we continue down this road, we will be in big trouble very fast.

In San Diego County, California, some laws have been put in place to coerce people to conserve water. These laws include only allowing households to water their lawns three days a week and during certain hours, restaurants should not serve water to patrons unless they specifically ask for it, and water is not allowed to run off of a person’s property. I believe this is a good start to conserving water but further steps need to be taken. People need to be encouraged, if not required to make additional changes to their lifestyles. Taking shorter showers, turning the water off when brushing teeth and flushing toilets less often are things that people should do, but cannot be regulated by governments. It can be required though, for people to change fixtures in their houses to low flow and water saving faucets and fixtures.

In addition to convincing people to make changes in their lives, the government can also begin to start programs to replenish our sources of water. Using recycled wastewater, also called greywater, to replenish important aquifers is one way of doing this. Also, if households install greywater recycling systems, they can use their recycled waste water for gardening and irrigation and thus reducing the amount of water used.

If our government and citizens take into consideration and begin to make these changes, it will allow future generations to build off of our actions until water conservation becomes an everyday practice.

Sociology Experiment

The question that we set out to answer was is if someone looked respectable and had a relevant plea would they receive money from begging. This experiment was intended to look at what might trigger sympathy. We can see of no consequences from leaving this question unresolved. This was an exploratory project. Some of the variables considered were the people who were giving the money to me and my ability to effectively pan handle. A second subject posing as a normal bum I think would be the best way to gage my success comparatively and would lead to more conclusive data make for a better experiment over all. The hypothesis behind our experiment was that a well-dressed individual with a reasonable plea would be very successful at pan handling. This would look at the basis of sympathy from strangers through monetary acknowledgement. From the parameters of the experiment I think that the respectable individual would make a good deal of money because people would feel safer, empathy and understanding with giving money. The method of research was experimental participant observation witch fit the essential question perfectly and offered deliberation on the hypothesis. I pan handled for approximately 30 min accumulating 8 dollars and some odd cents, making that an hourly wage of 16 dollars. I received money about every third set of car at the stop light where I was pan handling. In those sets were about 4 to 8 cars. This could be conducted on the sidewalk in the city where there might be more contact leading to more response.

From this experiment it became apparent that there is a direct relationship between the presentation of the panhandler and their success as one through the sympathy of others. The way I was dressed was business attire clean cut and well composed. The sign I used to ask for money with read “Lost it all in recession wife & baby need help god bless.” Those words were chosen to play on the ethos and pathos having the most impact in order to create sympathy, understanding as well as moral obligation. From the results of the experiment it seems to have achieved what was theorized. I think if this experiment model would to be conducted with a second panhandler for comparison and in a more densely populated setting the results would be much clearer.

United States Foreign Affairs

The question is "Do you think the United States should interfere with other countries affairs?"

In my opinion, the United States go into other countries too much, when we are not wanted there. I think we have this reputation of trying to solve other countries problems, but sometimes we are not welcome there. Because of this, i believe we get a reputation of being a big bully by forcing ourselves on other countries and trying to "liberate" them. Maybe, if we found a way to offer assistance in a less violent way, we would be more welcome by others, but for now, I think the United States should stop focusing on other countries and try to work out our own problems first.

Barder the Dog

Assume the dog in your story is named Barder, and that the orange turban gives him the power of flight…

Once there lived a sad, homeless German Shepherd named Barder. The family he used to live with has recently had a newborn baby girl, and that girl was scared of the big dog that always wanted to play, so unfortunately, the family dropped Barder off near the humane society, hoping someone would find him and take him home. But no one ever found Barder, and he wandered the streets all alone, eating out of garbage cans and sleeping under park benches. One day he was so fed up with his life that he decided he couldn't live with it anymore. The day had come, and when the two o'clock bus drove by the park bench, Barder ran out in front of it and killed himself. What seemed like hours later, but was only three minutes, Barder awoke in a storage white room, with a young boy standing over him. The boy explained to Barder that this was dog heaven, and here he could be granted one wish. Barder thought long and hard about his wish, and finally decided that he wanted to be able to fly, free like the birds. Like a magician, the boy began to pull a piece of orange cloth out of his sleeve and tied this cloth to his head like a turban. Then the boy climbed on top of Barder and told his to run as fast as he possibly could. Barder ran and ran, but when he looked down at his feet, he was no longer running but flying. Barder was now as happy as could be since his lifelong dream had been realized, and he and the boy lived happily ever after together.

Find more of Jan Von Holleben's photography at

http://www.janvonholleben.com/?page_id=4

Writing in Reverse

For this assignment we chose a photo from Bill Sullivan’s Turnstile Photography Project and wrote a short story about what that person had done before or after passing through the turnstile. This is the story of Tenique Mist and her husband Robert.

Tenique Mist and Her Corkscrew

Tenique Mist has just finished killing her husband with a corkscrew. Late last night, Robert had his wife pour him his usual glass of Mortlach, but little did he know, there was nothing usual about this night. Tenique had discreetly slipped some rohypnol into his drink. While he was semiconscious, she used the small knife blade attached to the corkscrew to slit his throat. She then sat back on the couch to watch her husband take his last few breaths and bleed out onto the plastic tarp covering the chair he was sitting on.

Robert is Tenique’s fourth husband, and fourth murder. Robert had no idea of her history before they got married. He only knew her the kind woman who had lived next door to him for three years. When he heard of her previous husband’s death, he had befriended her, as he had lost his wife just a few years before and thought he could be of some comfort to her. Now, one year and three months after their first encounter, he was facing the same fate as her previous husband.

After he had thoroughly bled out, and Tenique was certain of his fate, she went to work with the blade of the corkscrew once again. Slowly and meticulously, she cut his limbs off his body one by one. She was sure to not let one drop of blood fall onto the carpet below the plastic tarp, as that was her one mistake seventeen years ago.

Jonas was Tenique’s first husband. He had met the same fate as Robert, Michael and George, but one thing had been different. A small drop of blood had fallen from his arm onto the carpet beside him. When the police received reports that Jonas was missing, they first searched the home where he and Tenique had lived for just over a year. When they found the blood spot on the carpet, they were quick to question Tenique, but after years of training, she passed the polygraph with ease. To the dismay of the police, she was let back onto the streets where she would inevitably kill again.

Now that Robert’s body was dismembered into easy to handle chunks, she was able to put them into small black trash bags and take them to the city dump. Unfortunately, Tenique’s car had been impounded the previous day, so she was forced to take the subway there. But Tenique was certain that with her careful planning and her ability not to show emotion, no one would be any the wiser as to what was in her bags. But the one thing she was not counting on was the camera as she walked through the turnstile into the subway station.