Day: April 25, 2018

Database Management

Assignment Overview

The case for this module revolves around the question of large-scale data and the implications of database capabilities for organizational data management. As we’ve said, the change from data as a scarce resource to data as overabundance is still a major concern for organizations. Here, you’ll have a chance to consider the value of data and information. Data storage and management was seldom considered a particularly exciting topic; however, when data is used for making better decisions and/or enhancing organizational performance, it is amazing how quickly organizational (and personal) interest can be created.

The new state of having rather too much data to fit into the established databases is increasingly called “big data.” Big data arises from a combination of cheap storage, multiple data input streams, and a general sense that with all of this, there ought to be valuable data in there somewhere. Here are a couple of sources that begin to discuss these issues; you can undoubtedly find more:

Challenges and Opportunities with Big Data (2015).

Mehrotra, P., Pryor, L., Bailey, F. and Cotnoir, M. (2014). Supporting “Big Data” Analysis and Analytiics at the NSAS Supercomputing Facility. NAS Technical Report: NAS-2014-02.

Kaisler, S., Armour, F., Espinosa, J.A., and Money, W. (2013). Big data: Issues and challenge moving forward. 46th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, 1-10.

The trick to coping with “big data” is, of course, better data analytics — that is, that set of statistical mining, and related analytical tools that can be used to identify patterns in the data, assess a variety of associations, and generally illuminate the knowledge that might otherwise be buried in the mounds of numbers. Today, analytics is a rapidly expanding field.

Raghupathi, W. and Raghupathi, V. (2014). Big data analytics in healthcare: Promise and potential. Health and Information Science and Systems, 2(3), 1-10.

ISO/IEC JTC 1 Information Technology Big Data, Preliminary Report, 1-36.

Fujitsu (2015). The White Book of Big Data: The definitive guide to the revolution in business analytics.

So the case for this module revolves around the challenges of “big data” — that is, how to manage it, create reasonable analysis strategies, and at the same time avoid becoming totally dependent on it. Data makes a very good servant, but not a very attractive master.

Case Assignment

When you’ve had a chance to read these articles, anything from the Background that is helpful to you, or anything else you may have come across, please write a 5-page paper discussing the question:

Problems and Opportunities created by having too much data, and what to do about them

Take a definite stand on the issues, and develop your supporting argument carefully. Using material from the background information and any other sources you can find to support specific points in your argument is highly recommended; avoid making assertions for which you can find no support other than your own opinion.

Your paper is to be structured as a point/counterpoint argument, in the following manner.

• Begin this paper by stating your position on this question clearly and concisely
• Citing appropriate sources, present the reasons why you take this position. Be sure to make the most effective case you can.
• Then present the best evidence you can, again cite appropriate sources, against your position — that is, establish what counterarguments can be made to your original position.
• Finally, review your original position in light of the counterarguments, showing how they are inadequate to rebut your original statement.

By the end of your paper, you should be able to unequivocally re-affirm your original position.

IS101 Research Report Worksheets

 

Worksheet 8: Mapping Mobility

1. You are going to use Google My Maps to construct a map showing how global your TNC or INGO is. Here are the instructions on how to do this:

 

1. If you don’t have a Google account please open one – it’s free. Then go to https://www.google.com/maps/d/ and click on “Create a New Map”.

 

2. Enter an appropriate title for your map. In the description box, you can write something like “Stephen Young’s map of Tesco’s supply chains and retail outlets, 2011”.

 

3. Adjust the scale of the map using the tool on the lower right side. Make sure you can see all the countries. Center the map on your TNC/INGO headquarters using the hand icon. Click on the  button to insert a headquarters icon. You can change the color and shape of your icon using the menu in the upper left corner of the screen.
4. Click on the line icon , then click on ‘Add line or shape’. You are now ready to start adding lines to your map. If you’re studying a TNC you want to show where sources its products and where it sells them. If you’re studying an INGO you want to show where it receives funding from and where it operates projects. To do this, click on the headquarters of your organization then move the cursor to a place where your organization sources one of its products or receives funding. Click to fix the line in place. Click again and a dialogue box will open up. If you are unhappy with your line, delete it and start again. If you are happy with it then enter the place name in the upper bar and what is being sourced/funded in the lower bar. You can adjust the size and color of a line using the menu in the upper left corner. For lines that are representing supplier chains or funding sources, choose the color green. Click on “ok”, then go back to the line icon and repeat this step for all your supplier chains or funding sources.

 

5. When you have completed the supply chains, repeat this process to show us where your TNC sells its products or where your INGO runs its projects. Use the color red this time.

 

6. If your TNC/INGO has multiple connections clustered in one region it would be untidy to try and draw all those lines. Instead, use the line function to draw a shape. Now you can shade in a region if necessary – be sure to use the correct color.

 

7. Now you can add a few place icons to your map to represent the global or regional headquarters, transportation hubs, sites of important labor struggles, or anything else you think is particularly important. Click on the pin/bubble icon and then click again to place your marker on the map. Again, a dialogue box will open enabling you to enter a title and description. You can also click on the pin/bubble icon in the menu in the upper left side of the screen and change the icon to something appropriate from the default options. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even create your own icon.

 

8. When your map is complete, there is one more step you should take. It is not possible to copy and paste the map straight into a word doc. Instead, you need to take a screenshot [an image of your desktop screen], crop that picture down to the correct size, and then drag it into a word doc. If you don’t know which keys to press to take a screenshot search on google as it will vary by computer. After the image has been saved to your desktop, open it and draw a box around your map. Next, click on “crop”, which is in the Tools menu. You can then drag the edited screenshot into a word document. Be sure to save the file, as you will also use it in your final paper.

 

If you’re struggling with my directions, click on the gear icon in the upper ride side of the screen, where you can take a tour of Google Maps and/or search the help directory.

 

 

IIa. If you’re studying a TNC, has it ever sought to use the threat of mobility to try and win concessions from a government? Did it succeed? Investigate whether your TNC has received subsidies or tax breaks from a government here: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org

 

IIb. If you’re studying an INGO, has it ever been threatened with eviction from a country? Are there places where it has not been able to successfully operate? You could try searching newspapers in the places where your INGO has offices or other facilities: http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/internet/archives.html

 

Record any cases that you find underneath your map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

III. To Turn In

Submit your map and response to part II (as one document) to the dropbox by 5.00pm on Monday, October 31^st

 

CONCERT REPORT FORMAT

You may choose to attend concerts that appeal to you within these guidelines:

1. You must attend the entire concert. You need to report on most works, up to six or seven movements or compositions.  If there are more than that the first and last pieces should be reported on along with four or five others. Choose contrasting works.
2. Concerts may be solo vocal or instrumental, small groups, or large groups. You are encouraged to attend a variety of events to broaden your own horizons, but I will not keep track of this.  If you just love band music, you can attend three band concerts, and so on.
3. Concerts need to be performances of art music. One jazz concert, one world music, or one Broadway style concert or show are acceptable (but not required) per semester.  Rap, hip-hop, country, contemporary Christian, or rock concerts or club gigs do not fit the parameters of this class.  If you have questions about a concert, ASK ME BEFORE YOU ATTEND!
4. You are encouraged to attend events performed by Augustana campus groups or professional groups like the South Dakota Symphony but this is not required. You may go to educational concerts as in other colleges, high schools or even younger.  You may report on the concert of a group you belong to – but you must report on all the works on that concert, including those of other groups performing at the same event.  This concert must take place during the semester time frame of our class.  You may not report on a concert you performed in before September 1, 2016.

Concert reports should be in a prose format.  Complete sentences, correct spelling, and good syntax are important. Creativity is encouraged.  Legibility is vital – if I can’t read it, I will reject it.  Electronic format or printed format is strongly encouraged. You may submit your concert report through Moodle or via e-mail or hand it to me in printed format.  Within the concert report you need to include the following information:

As a heading:

1. Your name
2. Date and time of the concert
3. Location of the concert
4. Title of and type of performance group(s)

(choir, orchestra, band, soloist, etc.)

For each selection you choose to report of those performed, work into your prose:

1. Title
2. Composer and period of musical history
3. Genre (symphony, concerto, madrigal, etc.)
4. Important musical elements of the selection and recognition of those which are not as important
5. Your own personal reaction to the work, including whether you think this performance reflects what the composer intended.

Lists are NOT acceptable.  This is a prose format, and should read comfortably.  Think of it as a magazine or newspaper article, but not as a review of the concert.

ATTACH A COPY OF THE PROGRAM TO YOUR REPORT!

(You may scan the program or hand it to me in class if you submit your report electronically.  In the case of multi-page programs only the pages listing performed works are necessary.)

Concert reports should be examples of your high standards of scholarship and your writing skills, and will be graded accordingly.  Succinctness is valued over verbosity!  Use academic rather than colloquial style.  Usual reports are 2-4 pages, but that is not required.

Paleoecology Final Paper Assignment

 

The primary goals of this course include understanding the fundamental concepts in paleoecology, coming away with a working knowledge of how to “do” paleoecology, appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of paleoecological data, and developing critical thinking and communication skills. This paper will help fulfill all goals by facilitating your critical thinking and introducing your to the primary paleoecological literature.

 

The main idea of the paper is for you to identify some interesting topic in paleoecology, examine and synthesize the current state of the topic, and identify emerging new directions of the field. You have considerable freedom in your approach; for example, you may choose to examine a taxon, a time, a place, an idea, etc. However, you must use primary literature (articles with new data or analyses) and you must be synthetic; i.e., you must combine parts to make a unified whole. The synthesis paper is not simply a summary of the parts and not necessarily a criticism of the papers you read.  Rather, it is a critical approach where you consider the logic, significance, and value of an idea, and where you express and defend an opinion on the matter.

Your opinion should be logical and well supported by the primary literature.

 

The paper will be developed through a multi-stage process. You will 1) develop an initial idea and assemble an initial list of relevant literature, 2) flesh out an outline, 3) write an initial draft and receive feedback on the draft from your peers (i.e., peer review), and 4) incorporate the peer review comments to refine your final paper.

 

Notes on searching the literature

The articles we are reading for class serve as a good jumping off point for some of the main topics within paleoecology, but there are also many paleoecological topics we are not covering in class. Once you’ve identified a paper topic, it can be helpful to find a review of the topic, and use the literature cited list of that paper to dig into the primary literature. Alternatively, you can use the search engine Web of Science to find more recent articles that cite the review article. The librarians or myself can help you if you are unsure about how to search for primary literature. You will need to include a minimum of five citations.

 

• Web of Science and Google Scholar are my own go-to databases
• Some paleo–specific journals:

Quaternary Science Reviews, Quaternary Research, Quaternary International, The Holocene, Paleobiology, Journal of Paleontology, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, + paleo papers in many others!

• Journals with good reviews:

Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Paleobiology, Quaternary Science Reviews

 

 

Components of the Final Paper

Initial Draft

• Upload a copy of your draft paper to CatCourses; I will send it to your reviewers
• This draft should be a complete draft- your best attempt
• The paper should be 3-8 pages, single spaced
• The Literature Cited section does not count towards this page
  • Cite all sources you use in the appropriate place; use a consistent and complete format for in- text citations and bibliography.
  • Edit your manuscript
  • Include line numbers on your manuscript
  • Draft should be turned in as a pdf, not as a word or pages document
• See the rubric for additional guidance

 

**Template**

 

A guide to writing the final papers

 

 

Introduction

This section should include clear statements about the topic and its importance.

The best papers will clearly identify topic for the paper. The topic will definitely be about some aspect of paleoecology. Also, the importance of the topic will be clearly stated. There will be clear references to citations, both in-line as short literature references (Terry 2010) and at the end in the Literature Cited section.

 

Section Header 1

The body of the paper should be organized into logical sections about the topic. Each section should include text that synthesizes (not just re-states) the literature, with important sub-conclusions identified for each section (Pedersen et al. 2016).

 

Subsection header. There may even be subsections here, depending on how you choose to organize your paper.

 

Section Header 2

Section 2, and subsequent sections, may or may not be included in your paper, depending on how you choose to organize the topic (Gill et al. 2009). Each section should include text that synthesizes (not just re-states) the literature, with important sub-conclusions identified for each section.

 

Subsection header. There may even be subsections here, depending on how you choose to organize your paper.

 

Conclusions

Conclusion(s) are formed through the literature review and clearly stated here. This section may also include statements about gaps in the field that should be filled through new research.

 

[Other requirements]

• Topic must be at least partly about paleoecology
• Minimum of 5 references
• 3-8 pages single spaced
• Add page numbers in the footer region
• Add line numbers on your initial draft. You can keep or remove them for the final draft. This makes it easier for reviewers. In Word, line numbers can be added by going to: Format à Document à Layout à Line Numbers à Add line numbering, continuous.
• Grammar and spelling should be checked carefully

Literature Cited [Note that I’ve added a page break at the end of the conclusions, so that this section goes onto a new page. This section does not count towards the page requirements.]

 

A complete citation here will include the following information at a minimum:

• Last name and initials for authors. If a paper has >5 authors, you may list only the first five authors, followed by et al.
• Year of publication
• Title
• Journal
• Volume (and optionally, the issue)
• Starting page (and optionally, the end page)

 

For example, here is the formatted version for some of the papers we are reading in class.

 

Single author:

Terry RC. 2010. The dead do not lie: using skeletal remains for rapid assessment of historical small-mammal community baselines. Proc. Biol. Sci. 277(1685):1193– 1201

 

Multiple authors:

Gill JL, Williams JW, Jackson S, Lininger K, Robinson G. 2009. Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science. 326(5956):1100–1103

 

>5 authors:

Pedersen MW, Ruter A, Schweger C, Friebe H, Staff RA, et al. 2016. Postglacial viability and colonization in North America’s ice-free corridor. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature19085. *Note that this paper has only been published online, so there are no volume numbers. Instead, I am providing the DOI (digital object identifier).

 

Put citations in alphabetical order and add a line break after each one, so that it is easier to read. For the references cited in the template, this is a nice format:

 

Gill JL, Williams JW, Jackson S, Lininger K, Robinson G. 2009. Pleistocene Megafaunal Collapse, Novel Plant Communities, and Enhanced Fire Regimes in North America. Science. 326(5956):1100–1103

 

Pedersen MW, Ruter A, Schweger C, Friebe H, Staff RA, et al. 2016. Postglacial viability and colonization in North America’s ice-free corridor. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature19085.

 

Terry RC. 2010. The dead do not lie: using skeletal remains for rapid assessment of historical small-mammal community baselines. Proc. Biol. Sci. 277(1685):1193–1201

Botany Assignment:

You must complete Part 1 and Part 2 of this Assignment.

Part 1. Find images AND provide ecological descriptions of 5 representative plants. Cite all sources. (5 pts.)

• Rubric—Plants 1-5: List the following details for each plant:
  • Geographical location (Where in the world does it grow?) (.125pts)
  • Habitat type (i.e.—alpine, tropical, subtropical, aquatic, etc.) (.125pts)
  • Temperature (.125pts)
  • Soil type/characteristics (.125pts)
  • Focus (medicinal/pharmaceutical, industrial, food source, biofuel, invasive) (.125pts)
  • Image + Source (.25pts)
  • Cite Source (.125pts)

Part 2. Construct a 200–250-word TYPED essay using Times New Roman 12pt. font. (5pts.)

      IN YOUR OWN WORDS:  Discuss the importance of these plants AND how they are being used to solve real-world problems. 

• Rubric—Essay (Focus on 1 plant:
  • Word count: 200-250 words (.5pts)
  • Font: Times New Roman 12pt font (.5pts)
  • Spelling and Grammar (1pt)
  • Content: why the plant is important, its purpose as it relates to the focus group, problems it solves or creates (2pts)
  • Works Cited (1pt)

• You MUST use at least 1 scientific source (e.g., Bioscience, Nature, Science, Science News or Scientific American) and you must cite your source.
• If you choose to cite a webpage, it MUST be one of the following “approved” websites:

• National Marine Fisheries Service
• National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Science Foundation
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Environmental Protection Agency
• National Institute of Health

 Botany Assignment:

• Students that fail to cite their sources will receive a 50% automatic deduction on the entire assignment.

 

• This is not a group assignment!  All reports will be carefully reviewed and compared with other student submissions to check for individual completion of this assignment.  All parties involved in working together to complete this assignment will receive failing grades in this lab.

 

• Don’t forget that you must turn in a printed copy of this assignment.

• You may put it in my mailbox in the conference room next to the department office or bring it to LSB Room 222 (Genetics Lab) by the due date.

Botany Assignment:

Sports Medicine and Fitness Program

Exercise Physiology 7: Documentary: The Truth about Exercise (2012)

 

Purpose: This lab is designed to engage the student about recognizing concepts and topics in Sports Medicine/Exercise and being able to conceptually explain and expand the knowledge gained by writing a paper.

 

Sports Medicine and Fitness Program

Instructions: Please watch The Truth about Exercise (2012) by Michael Mosley. The link is: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz2fwb_the-truth-about-exercise_lifestyle

 

Find three (3) topics or concepts in the documentary that we have studied in exercise physiology class. Please relate the topics from the documentary and explain what you know about them. Also, give us a picture (with your writing) on how the documentary was using the topics or concepts you just studied. Also, make sure you explain the concepts or topics to the reader.

 

Please include an introductory paragraph, a body, and a conclusion. Use the space below to take notes and make an outline of your paper.

 

 

 Sports Medicine and Fitness Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submission:  Please type up a 1.5 – 2 page paper in APA format and include in your lab portfolio.

University of California Personal insight questions

Directions

• There is one required question you must answer
• You must also answer 3 out of 7 additional questions
• Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words
• Which three questions you choose to answer are up to you: But you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.

 

Questions & guidance

Remember, the personal questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help.  The important thing is expressing who are you, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.

 

Required question

Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university.

My major is : Economics, studying at DeAnza College.

Things to consider: How did your interest in your major develop? Do you have any experience related to your major outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships and employment, or participation in student organizations and activities? If you haven’t had experience in the field, consider including experience in the classroom. This may include working with faculty or doing research projects.

If you’re applying to multiple campuses with a different major at each campus, think about approaching the topic from a broader perspective, or find a common thread among the majors you’ve chosen.

 

 

 

Choose to answer any three of the following seven questions:

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience.  What were your responsibilities?

Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities.  For example, do you help out or take care of your family?

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

Things to consider:  What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?

How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?

Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strived to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today?

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends, or with my family?”

6. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place – like your high school, hometown, or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act?  What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?

7. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?

Things to consider: Don’t be afraid to brag a little. Even if you don’t think you’re unique, you are — remember, there’s only one of you in the world. From your point of view, what do you feel makes you belong on one of UC’s campuses? When looking at your life, what does a stranger need to understand in order to know you?

What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge, or opportunity that you think will help us know you better? We’re not necessarily looking for what makes you unique compared to others, but what makes you, YOU.

Diary project (Individual Project: choice 1)

 

In this project you are going to explore the encounter of two different civilizations: the Spanish and the Aztec one, through the eyes of a Native American. As you know, the Aztecs and their subjects did not develop a sophisticated writing system, which is why your role is to fill this gap.  Pretending that you are an Aztec person back in time, you will create an illustrated personal diary OR an illustrated newspaper entry describing the day of the arrival of the conquistadors into the Aztec Empire, and the changes they made in your life and the life of your community.

You may choose to write from the perspective of: Spanish and the Aztec one civilizations

• Montezuma OR
• An Aztec warrior OR
• An Indian ally of the Spanish

 

Your diary should include at least 2 things that struck you about the Spanish civilization, 2 technologies the Spanish brought, 2 changes they made in your life and the life of your community, and how the people felt about the changes.

The diary should be a total of at least 1 page of writing (12 TNR; 1.5 space) written from a perspective of a diary writer (1^st person singular) and include photos and, possibly, audio documentation. Students are encouraged to use various software.

In order to prepare the diary, it is mandatory to conduct research (details below).

Spanish and the Aztec one civilizations

Requirements: 

1. This is an individual project.
2. The minimum length of the writing is 1 page
3. Each date late will be penalized by -1 point of the project grade.
4. You should provide a bibliography of minimum 5 sources (3 should be books) written in APA style and submit it together with your project.
5. You may use a variety of software of your choice.

Spanish and the Aztec one civilizations

Must be harvard style referencing

THE WORK MUST BE OF A 1ST LEVEL QUALITY AND STANDARD.

QUESTION:
Ball (2006)
1 posits that “the notion that uniform standards alone will produce uniform
financial reporting seems naïve.”

REQUIRED:
Discuss, with the aid of relevant literature and examples, to what extent you agree with the above statement.

CONTENT QUIDELINES:

1.Your essay should have a good structure: an introduction which specifies the purpose of the essay together with an indication of the structure; a main body where you need to show your understanding of the concepts, some illustration of the issues with examples, your critical discussion and reflection on the literature and finally end with a summary.

2.It is advisable that you prepare this coursework utilizing all relevant materials covered in the Autumn term. Additional material can be found through academic journals and the press. here is no optimum number of references to be used, but your arguments should be sufficiently supported by academic literature.

Weekly articles are to be a summary and reaction to an article you find related to occupational safety and health. Make sure it is double spaced, 12 font, and at least one full page. Make sure your articles are related to health and safety issues in this country and post the link of your article in the body of your paper.

MODEL ANSWER:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57523596/oklahoma-refinery-blast-probe-could-take-months/
The article, “Oklahoma Refinery Blast Probe could take Months,” described an explosion that occurred at a refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma that killed one worker and critically injured another. The United States Department of Labor commented on the explosion and stated that the entire investigation could take months to complete. Elizabeth Todd, speaking on behalf the Department of Labor, stated that OSHA investigators were at the scene today and may be there for up to a week.
The refinery is owned by a company called CVR Energy, which is based in Sugar Land, Texas. On Friday, the refinery was closed for scheduled maintenance. A boiler exploded after it was being brought back online. The blast killed Billy Smith, 34, and critically injured Russell Mann, who remains hospitalized in critical condition.
While this article was a bit short, it incited a good amount of anger within me. First off, the fact that this article is so short and is buried within the local section of CBS News tells a lot of what the United States thinks about worker safety. Obviously, not many people think this is much of a big deal, since it was not widely talked about. The fact that even one person died on a seemingly routine workday is just unacceptable. How could this company not take measures to prevent this? There had to be some, even slight, indication that this boiler could have in fact exploded. Even if it was a very faint concern by either a worker or management person, it should have been dealt with. I’m sure that somebody noticed something unusual about this boiler or the area of the refinery or something that should have been dealt with and it is despicable that nothing was done about it. Nearly all workplace accidents are preventable and I’m sure that this one was no exception. When OSHA completes its investigation, I really hope the results will be widely reported and discussed across the country to bring awareness to the still-dangerous situations that workers face. There is, perhaps, some hope on the horizon, but the fact that this story was so underreported saddens and angers me greatly.

WEBSITES: http://rss.topix.net/us/osha; www.OSHA.gov; and http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/