Identify the title, setting, and date of the lecture/performance. Describe the experience and what it was like for you. What did it make you think about? (minimum 250 words)
I attended a local seminar at Dartmouth college in Hanover, New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 31st. The title is 'Physics and Astronomy Space Plasma' and was a seminar on exploring the sensing of higher energy electron density in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The seminar was put together and presented by Toshi Nishimura. It was a really strange time because I was the only one in the class who was under the age of 30. Everyone there had degrees or were seeking degrees in the field. Keeping up was difficult as well but still, I learned a little about how the high-energy particles from the sun cause the beautiful auroras we call the Northern Lights. I learned about how fluctuations in the magnetic field around the earth are also to blame for the Auroras. It’s just a very interesting thing to think about. There is a scientific reason behind every single beautiful and unnoticeable phenomenon that happens. I knew quite a bit from how it worked, but with the applied math and graphical data and charts, it showed just how much work goes into studying something like this. I may want to have a future in studying the sky. It also helped dawn on me that, astronomy as a whole, is not just planets and stars and galaxies, but the study of really everything in the universe. I look at it like this; astronomy to many seems to be the study of the sky, the stars, the planets, asteroids, moons and all the things out past the subtle boundaries of Earth. But what many don’t know is that the world counts! The effect the sun has on the earth and all the processes that happen everywhere on earth are also considered astronomy. This was applied with physics which not only explained the “what?” something is but also the “How?” something is and how it does what it does. Both are equally important and I feel I learned a great deal about this. Mr. Nishimura didn’t necessarily teach me a whole new thing about auroras and high-density atmospheric particles but he helped me figure out not only what astronomy really is, but what it means to me.
Wow, Zach, that sounds like a really cool lecture. It's pretty impressive that you were able to keep up at all. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to. I really like your takeaway from the lecture. The bit about astronomy being the study of everything in the universe and their affect on Earth. It's not a conclusion everyone might draw seeing as those processes will happen whether we will it or not and they're just a part of the scene around us.
Weather Lecture On Thursday night in the Martha Jane Rich Theatre I attended a lecture on weather. This lecture was hosted by the historical society and Mark Breene was the speaker. Mark Breene is a noteable weatherman on the Vermont Public Radio program “Eye on the Sky.” He also teaches weather classes and science at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. I found this lecture rather interesting. He talked about many things in the past, present, and future of weather in the Northeast, particularly Vermont. I thought it was amazing how many weather records the museum kept. They have records dating back to the 1850s. While the growth of pavement and concrete in cities has affected temperature of major cities greatly, temperature measurements at the Fairbanks museum can be some of the most constant over the last 150 years. Mark also shared some specific facts of weather in Vermont. He talked about the flood of 1927 as well as tropical storm Irene being the two biggest natural disasters in Vermont. Personally he loves snow and was passionate about sharing the 77 inch snowstorm that takes the Vermont Record. He also began talking about patterns have become increasingly unpredictable. In 2007 Vermont had it snowiest year on record while only seven years later it had its least snowy winter. Something he stressed was the use of past weather patterns to predict those of now and the future. He talked about how scientist use ice layers or sediment layers to estimate the temperature of the globe thousands of years ago. I was extremely surprised about his moderate opinions on climate change. He seemed to believe that it was very minimally related to humans.
I attended the movie, “Wretches and Jabberers.” It took place in the Martha Jane Rich Theater on Thursday, May 4, 2017. The movie was about two autistic men who traveled the world to spread awareness and educate people about autism. Afterwards, there was a question and answer session with the two men, Tracy and Larry, who starred in the movie. I found the content of the movie to be very powerful. One of the things that struck me the most had to with their means of communication. Both used computers to communicate with people. They would type what they wanted to say, and then use a speaking device to say the words they had written. What was so unbelievable to me was that neither of them had been given a computer until they were at least twenty; I am pretty sure that Tracy got his first computer at age twenty-three, and Larry was in his thirties. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to express themselves before this, or the frustration and discouragement that must have been building up inside of them constantly. Talking has always been something I have just taken for granted, and I find it so horrible that Tracy and Larry had almost no means of communication for such a large portion of their life. The other thing about this was that, not only did they receive computers so late in their life, but also, because they had no way of expressing themselves, people assumed that they could not communicate. This also so awful, and I simply cannot imagine going through that. In the movie, Tracy and Larry traveled to various locations around the world, meeting with other autistic people who were also focused on educating people about autism, and attending/leading conferences, in which they would speak about their lives and how autism has affected them. Watching them travel all around the world because of how strongly they believed in the importance of education about autism was inspiring. It is so encouraging to see these people working so hard for something they feel so deeply about and truly making a difference in the world.
It's kind of crazy to think about how little we know about autism even though we all know people or experience life around someone who may lie somewhere on the spectrum. This seemed like a really powerful and thought provoking demonstration on the subject. While I'm very glad to hear they found a way to clearly articulate and express themselves I still find it sad that they had to wait so long to do So. It really does pose an idea that they must have had a lot of dicouragment and frustration building up in them. However, clearly this is a problem that was solved for these two people, I see no reason why many more couldn't benefit from this! Still, this is a really cool subject and I really wish I knew it was playing I would have loved to see it!
Well done, Skyra. Their presentation reminded me of how little we knew about autism when I was growing up. I was also impressed by these two men and how committed they are to autism awareness.
Wretches and Jabberers Movie On Thursday, May 4th, 2017 I saw the movie, Wretches and Jabberers, in the Martha Jane Rich Theater. The movie followed two men with autism, Tracy and Larry, as they traveled on a world tour to advocate for autistic people all over the world. The movie was a very powerful and moving experience, but what really struck me was the question and answer session after the movie. Tracy and Larry were both present at the movie and were more than willing to answer any questions asked. Both men communicate through use of typing due to the fact that they cannot communicate in other ways. Both men were not able to communicate the way they can today until early in their adult lives. It is hard for me to imagine not being able to communicate with the people around me. The worst part, to me, was the fact that they mentioned that due to their difficulty communicating, people assumed they were not intelligent. This made me extremely sad because, through watching the movie coupled with the question and answer session, it was clear that both Tracy and Larry are extremely intelligent. Not only are they smart, but the way they answer even the simplest of questions with the utmost eloquence, is something that I can only dream of achieving. Their responses, especially Larry’s, were poetic and beautiful in structure. Overall, it was an incredibly eye opening experience, as it taught me a lot about assumptions and how much they can affect someone. It was incredibly moving to see these two men disproving every wrong assumption made of them, and doing it with such grace and elegance.
I recently attended the "Wretches and Jabberers" movie in the Martha Jane Rich theater, and I'm very glad I did. It was amazing to hear the stories of two autistic men named Larry and Tracey. The film was about their journey around the world to countries like Japan, Finland, and Sri Lanka. In each country they met other autistic people and attended conferences in order to raise awareness for their condition. It was a privilege to get a look into the minds and lives of Larry and Tracey, and to see how motivated they were to spread their message, despite the fact that they could only complexly communicate with slow typing. Throughout the film Tracey kept saying how important it was for autistic people to be seen for their intelligence past their disability. Well, I for one could definitely see that intelligence in Tracey, Larry, and all of the other autistic people that they met in their travels. Immediately behind their autistic appearance Larry and Tracey possess personalities and intellect that make them more insightful, passionate, and funny than most people I know. I also admit that I had a few misconceptions about autism and people affected by it before the film. It was compelling to learn about what it is like to grow up with autism, how to communicate, and that the disorder itself doesn't effect social ability, only the often resulting isolation does. Tracey and Larry exhibited unique and real identities that not just autistic people, but everyone can relate to and learn from. I know now, that often people who can't talk have the most fascinating things to say.
I give you credit for admitting you had some misconceptions. I did too, and I think it shows a certain amount of humility to admit one had misconceptions. Good work.
I recently went to a lecture at dartmouth about knot theory. It was interesting because the way that I think of knots is not how they're studied mathematically. A knot in math is a loop that has some number of places where it crosses over or under itself. Some knots can be manipulated to appear different, but not all knots can be entirely undone to become a loop. This means that a knot couldn't be changed into a different knot unless the knots are actually the same. This annoys me a little bit, because I like knots–they're useful, and fun to learn about, but they're completely different than the kind of thing studied using knot theory, as far as I can tell. We also talked a little bit about how knots can be represented mathematically, which confuses me a little, but it's with polynomials. First you lay out the knot on a coordinate plane, so it's made up of straight lines and the crossings are at right angles. Then you mark the direction of the knot–if you follow it, it doesn't ever end, but it only ever goes one direction (it never switches), so you go through and mark the direction that it goes. After that you go through and give different sections of the knot values based on what direction the knot is going, and what side of the section you are on. You take all those values and add them together, and that gives you the mathematical value of the knot. We also learned about this theorem that gives you a way to represent any knot as a three dimensional object with only two sides, which is cool. I'm still kind of unclear on why people study knot theory–how it can be applied to the real world, but at least now I know what it is.
Anabel, I think it's really cool that you attended a math lecture! I have always wondered about what sort of mathematics make my ipod headphones magically twist up into crazy patterns in my pocket. Also being a sailor this sounds like a lecture I would really have enjoyed. I've always thought the coordinate plane always makes things clearer so its interesting to me how you describe the how a knot can be quantified in this manner. As far as applications of this field go I stand a bit unclear with you. Perhaps it falls into the category of math in nature or could apply to science at the molecular/atomic level.
Posting for Owen because it didn't work for him, again.
I went to a movie screening and then a panel discussion prompted by the film “Forgotten Farms,” at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction on May 17 sponsored by the Upper Valley Land Trust. The film examined the lack of attention and appreciation dairy farms in New England receive. Dairy Farms are “forgotten” in New England for several reasons. One big one is because milk prices are rigged against New England farmers due to the size of New England dairy farms and their distance away from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (it’s a very complicated system). The poor pricing for New England dairy farmers is one main reason dairy farmers struggle financially, but the main reason “Forgotten Farms” was created was to highlight the divide between the new generation of young, organic vegetable farmers in the Northeast. It was a strange experience for me to attend this event by myself, in an audience of predominantly middle aged people. I felt even more of an outsider during the panel discussion after the movie when all of the people on the panel were older dairy farmers. I also was a little confused by the dairy farm lingo the people on the panel and in the movie used. The thing that I took out of the movie and panel discussion that was most powerful for me was that you can’t take an important member of your community for granted. In the movie dairy farmers were underappreciated by people in their town and I think that is horrible especially after learning how important dairy farmers are from the movie. I learned from the event on Wednesday that dairy farmers are very important to New England because they provide almost all the milk products for the people of New England.
I attended a lecture Thursday, May 25th at Dartmouth by Kalpone Akter. It was called the clothes in your closet tell a story. It was interesting and I am glad that I went. Kalpone was telling a story of how when she was young, her parents got sick and they needed support. They lived in Bangladesh. Kalpone and her 10 year brother decided to work in a factory. They worked 415 hours and they were only paid 8 dollars. In November 1991 they were working with other people and there was a fire in the factory and they were locked by the manager for 2 hours and after they got released but in the factory there was 1100 workers and 112 of them were burnt. There was a decrease of salary in their factory and there was a strike done by 92 men she was the youngest but she did the strike because she needed the money. Later a coworker told her to join a union. At the age of 16 she became a union member. She learnt many things she didn’t know about the law and she learnt many things about her rights as a worker. She was fired and blacklisted because of that. She said that there is a lot of violence in factories. And the Bangladeshi government doesn’t care. She also mentioned that the working condition is the same in every factory they don’t care about the workers, they care about the price of the clothes. People asked how they could help to prevent the Violence and Kalpone answered that they need help from all the countries to speak up and to make sure that if you buy clothes from store you ask the managers if the workers who make the clothes are well paid. It was interesting for me to know about that because i really never thought of where what i wear comes from and what is the condition of the people who make what i wear i think it was great to know about all that.
This is a really great post. Thank you for shedding some light on this really important topic that I will also admit I don't give enough thought to. It's a really important issue and I'm glad you were able to attend.
I recently attended a lecture at Dartmouth College: "The Clothes in Your Closet Tell a Story." The lecturer was a woman named Kalpona Akter. Kalpona is a renowned Bangladeshi labor activist and it was very cool to hear her story and learn about her work. Akter is most well known for pulling clothes with big brand names like Wal-Mart and Disney out of the rubble of a factory in Bangladesh. The desolation was the result of a fire in which 146 workers died. Unfortunately, fires like this are not an unusual occurrence in Bangladesh as Akter explained. She now works for better conditions and wages for laborers and holds big corporations accountable for their actions.
As a child Kalpona worked in the very factories in question along with her brother to support her family. It was hard work that took 11-14 hours out of each day for 6 days a week, and she earned less than $70 dollars a month. Then Kalpona managed to attend a single session of a law class and it "changed her life." She learned about rights and, more applicably, unionization. In 1996, At the age of 16, she became the leader of one of the first workers unions in Bangladesh and embarked on a career of activism as she gained attention.
Akter herself had experienced the danger of fire in factories and the lack of safety measures taken concerning it. She even tells of how when a call of fire was raised somewhere in the factory the managers would insist that there was no fire and padlock exits to keep people working. Akter offered us the statistic that between 2005 and 2013 200+ workers died in Bangladeshi factory fires annually. In response to this in 2013 she partnered with global NGO's and activists and forced numerous multinational clothing companies (including Wal-Mart, Disney, GAP, and Sears) to sign the Bangladeshi Fire Accord. This accord legally bound companies to ensure safer working conditions. After 2013 the annual death rate due to fire dropped to almost zero. The accord is so far Akter's crowning achievement in an ongoing struggle for workers rights and she recently met with US congress to discuss further action.
One specific piece of information that Ms. Akter shared stuck out to me and put the whole topic of unfairness into perspective: A worker in a Bangladeshi clothing factory processes an average of 1200 garments every month. The retail price of ONE of those 1200 garments in the western world is greater than the amount of money that worker earns in a month. That means that give or take 99% of factory products can be turned into pure lucrative profit for the massive company that runs the operation. What the heck.
Ms. Akter ended the lecture by discussing the power that we as consumers have to provoke change. Interestingly she maintains that boycotting is not the answer because as corrupt as it is Bangladeshi workers need the clothing industry. That instead it would be more helpful to buy, but buy responsibly and even inquire with store management about workers rights. If enough people do things like this and show support for people like her and their organizations real progress can be made.
This lecture was enlightening, and it was a pleasure to hear someone who has done so much speak. These issues are real, and the American public is as unaware as it is complicit. As Kalpona Akter says "When it is 2011 in the United States it is 1911 in Bangladesh."
William, I'm really glad you were able to attend this talk. I wish I could have gone as well. Your response is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Well done.
POSTING FOR OWEN: Bosco, sounds like you attended a pretty moving lecture. In addition it seems like you wrote a very thorough and thoughtful response. It seems like this lecture had an impact on you. Just hearing about this woman Kalpona Akter has me very impressed, it sounds like she has been through some serious struggles and has become influential in the fight for workers' rights. The fact that stood out to you also stood out to me that corporations can make about 99% pure profit off of the clothes that these Bangladeshi workers produce is ridiculous. I am even more saddened by these horrifying facts when I look at myself and realize the clothes I am wearing were possibly produced in factories where workers are put in terrible conditions. Really shows how tough it can be to be a conscious consumer, but how important it is.
I attended a local seminar at Dartmouth college in Hanover, New Hampshire on Tuesday, January 31st. The title is 'Physics and Astronomy Space Plasma' and was a seminar on exploring the sensing of higher energy electron density in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The seminar was put together and presented by Toshi Nishimura. It was a really strange time because I was the only one in the class who was under the age of 30. Everyone there had degrees or were seeking degrees in the field. Keeping up was difficult as well but still, I learned a little about how the high-energy particles from the sun cause the beautiful auroras we call the Northern Lights. I learned about how fluctuations in the magnetic field around the earth are also to blame for the Auroras. It’s just a very interesting thing to think about. There is a scientific reason behind every single beautiful and unnoticeable phenomenon that happens. I knew quite a bit from how it worked, but with the applied math and graphical data and charts, it showed just how much work goes into studying something like this. I may want to have a future in studying the sky. It also helped dawn on me that, astronomy as a whole, is not just planets and stars and galaxies, but the study of really everything in the universe. I look at it like this; astronomy to many seems to be the study of the sky, the stars, the planets, asteroids, moons and all the things out past the subtle boundaries of Earth. But what many don’t know is that the world counts! The effect the sun has on the earth and all the processes that happen everywhere on earth are also considered astronomy. This was applied with physics which not only explained the “what?” something is but also the “How?” something is and how it does what it does. Both are equally important and I feel I learned a great deal about this. Mr. Nishimura didn’t necessarily teach me a whole new thing about auroras and high-density atmospheric particles but he helped me figure out not only what astronomy really is, but what it means to me.
ReplyDeleteWow, Zach, that sounds like a really cool lecture. It's pretty impressive that you were able to keep up at all. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to. I really like your takeaway from the lecture. The bit about astronomy being the study of everything in the universe and their affect on Earth. It's not a conclusion everyone might draw seeing as those processes will happen whether we will it or not and they're just a part of the scene around us.
DeleteWeather Lecture
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday night in the Martha Jane Rich Theatre I attended a lecture on weather. This lecture was hosted by the historical society and Mark Breene was the speaker. Mark Breene is a noteable weatherman on the Vermont Public Radio program “Eye on the Sky.” He also teaches weather classes and science at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. I found this lecture rather interesting. He talked about many things in the past, present, and future of weather in the Northeast, particularly Vermont. I thought it was amazing how many weather records the museum kept. They have records dating back to the 1850s. While the growth of pavement and concrete in cities has affected temperature of major cities greatly, temperature measurements at the Fairbanks museum can be some of the most constant over the last 150 years. Mark also shared some specific facts of weather in Vermont. He talked about the flood of 1927 as well as tropical storm Irene being the two biggest natural disasters in Vermont. Personally he loves snow and was passionate about sharing the 77 inch snowstorm that takes the Vermont Record. He also began talking about patterns have become increasingly unpredictable. In 2007 Vermont had it snowiest year on record while only seven years later it had its least snowy winter. Something he stressed was the use of past weather patterns to predict those of now and the future. He talked about how scientist use ice layers or sediment layers to estimate the temperature of the globe thousands of years ago. I was extremely surprised about his moderate opinions on climate change. He seemed to believe that it was very minimally related to humans.
I attended the movie, “Wretches and Jabberers.” It took place in the Martha Jane Rich Theater on Thursday, May 4, 2017. The movie was about two autistic men who traveled the world to spread awareness and educate people about autism. Afterwards, there was a question and answer session with the two men, Tracy and Larry, who starred in the movie. I found the content of the movie to be very powerful. One of the things that struck me the most had to with their means of communication. Both used computers to communicate with people. They would type what they wanted to say, and then use a speaking device to say the words they had written. What was so unbelievable to me was that neither of them had been given a computer until they were at least twenty; I am pretty sure that Tracy got his first computer at age twenty-three, and Larry was in his thirties. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to express themselves before this, or the frustration and discouragement that must have been building up inside of them constantly. Talking has always been something I have just taken for granted, and I find it so horrible that Tracy and Larry had almost no means of communication for such a large portion of their life. The other thing about this was that, not only did they receive computers so late in their life, but also, because they had no way of expressing themselves, people assumed that they could not communicate. This also so awful, and I simply cannot imagine going through that. In the movie, Tracy and Larry traveled to various locations around the world, meeting with other autistic people who were also focused on educating people about autism, and attending/leading conferences, in which they would speak about their lives and how autism has affected them. Watching them travel all around the world because of how strongly they believed in the importance of education about autism was inspiring. It is so encouraging to see these people working so hard for something they feel so deeply about and truly making a difference in the world.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of crazy to think about how little we know about autism even though we all know people or experience life around someone who may lie somewhere on the spectrum. This seemed like a really powerful and thought provoking demonstration on the subject. While I'm very glad to hear they found a way to clearly articulate and express themselves I still find it sad that they had to wait so long to do So. It really does pose an idea that they must have had a lot of dicouragment and frustration building up in them. However, clearly this is a problem that was solved for these two people, I see no reason why many more couldn't benefit from this! Still, this is a really cool subject and I really wish I knew it was playing I would have loved to see it!
DeleteWell done, Skyra. Their presentation reminded me of how little we knew about autism when I was growing up. I was also impressed by these two men and how committed they are to autism awareness.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWretches and Jabberers Movie
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday, May 4th, 2017 I saw the movie, Wretches and Jabberers, in the Martha Jane Rich Theater. The movie followed two men with autism, Tracy and Larry, as they traveled on a world tour to advocate for autistic people all over the world. The movie was a very powerful and moving experience, but what really struck me was the question and answer session after the movie. Tracy and Larry were both present at the movie and were more than willing to answer any questions asked. Both men communicate through use of typing due to the fact that they cannot communicate in other ways. Both men were not able to communicate the way they can today until early in their adult lives. It is hard for me to imagine not being able to communicate with the people around me. The worst part, to me, was the fact that they mentioned that due to their difficulty communicating, people assumed they were not intelligent. This made me extremely sad because, through watching the movie coupled with the question and answer session, it was clear that both Tracy and Larry are extremely intelligent. Not only are they smart, but the way they answer even the simplest of questions with the utmost eloquence, is something that I can only dream of achieving. Their responses, especially Larry’s, were poetic and beautiful in structure. Overall, it was an incredibly eye opening experience, as it taught me a lot about assumptions and how much they can affect someone. It was incredibly moving to see these two men disproving every wrong assumption made of them, and doing it with such grace and elegance.
I think you hit the nail on the head–––people assuming that they weren't intelligent. That has to be really hard. I agree.
DeleteI recently attended the "Wretches and Jabberers" movie in the Martha Jane Rich theater, and I'm very glad I did. It was amazing to hear the stories of two autistic men named Larry and Tracey. The film was about their journey around the world to countries like Japan, Finland, and Sri Lanka. In each country they met other autistic people and attended conferences in order to raise awareness for their condition. It was a privilege to get a look into the minds and lives of Larry and Tracey, and to see how motivated they were to spread their message, despite the fact that they could only complexly communicate with slow typing. Throughout the film Tracey kept saying how important it was for autistic people to be seen for their intelligence past their disability. Well, I for one could definitely see that intelligence in Tracey, Larry, and all of the other autistic people that they met in their travels. Immediately behind their autistic appearance Larry and Tracey possess personalities and intellect that make them more insightful, passionate, and funny than most people I know. I also admit that I had a few misconceptions about autism and people affected by it before the film. It was compelling to
ReplyDeletelearn about what it is like to grow up with autism, how to communicate, and that the disorder itself doesn't effect social ability, only the often resulting isolation does. Tracey and Larry exhibited unique and real identities that not just autistic people, but everyone can relate to and learn from. I know now, that often people who can't talk have the most fascinating things to say.
I give you credit for admitting you had some misconceptions. I did too, and I think it shows a certain amount of humility to admit one had misconceptions. Good work.
DeleteI recently went to a lecture at dartmouth about knot theory. It was interesting because the way that I think of knots is not how they're studied mathematically. A knot in math is a loop that has some number of places where it crosses over or under itself. Some knots can be manipulated to appear different, but not all knots can be entirely undone to become a loop. This means that a knot couldn't be changed into a different knot unless the knots are actually the same. This annoys me a little bit, because I like knots–they're useful, and fun to learn about, but they're completely different than the kind of thing studied using knot theory, as far as I can tell. We also talked a little bit about how knots can be represented mathematically, which confuses me a little, but it's with polynomials. First you lay out the knot on a coordinate plane, so it's made up of straight lines and the crossings are at right angles. Then you mark the direction of the knot–if you follow it, it doesn't ever end, but it only ever goes one direction (it never switches), so you go through and mark the direction that it goes. After that you go through and give different sections of the knot values based on what direction the knot is going, and what side of the section you are on. You take all those values and add them together, and that gives you the mathematical value of the knot. We also learned about this theorem that gives you a way to represent any knot as a three dimensional object with only two sides, which is cool. I'm still kind of unclear on why people study knot theory–how it can be applied to the real world, but at least now I know what it is.
ReplyDeleteAnabel, I think it's really cool that you attended a math lecture! I have always wondered about what sort of mathematics make my ipod headphones magically twist up into crazy patterns in my pocket. Also being a sailor this sounds like a lecture I would really have enjoyed. I've always thought the coordinate plane always makes things clearer so its interesting to me how you describe the how a knot can be quantified in this manner. As far as applications of this field go I stand a bit unclear with you. Perhaps it falls into the category of math in nature or could apply to science at the molecular/atomic level.
DeletePosting for Owen because it didn't work for him, again.
ReplyDeleteI went to a movie screening and then a panel discussion prompted by the film “Forgotten Farms,” at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction on May 17 sponsored by the Upper Valley Land Trust. The film examined the lack of attention and appreciation dairy farms in New England receive. Dairy Farms are “forgotten” in New England for several reasons. One big one is because milk prices are rigged against New England farmers due to the size of New England dairy farms and their distance away from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (it’s a very complicated system). The poor pricing for New England dairy farmers is one main reason dairy farmers struggle financially, but the main reason “Forgotten Farms” was created was to highlight the divide between the new generation of young, organic vegetable farmers in the Northeast. It was a strange experience for me to attend this event by myself, in an audience of predominantly middle aged people. I felt even more of an outsider during the panel discussion after the movie when all of the people on the panel were older dairy farmers. I also was a little confused by the dairy farm lingo the people on the panel and in the movie used. The thing that I took out of the movie and panel discussion that was most powerful for me was that you can’t take an important member of your community for granted. In the movie dairy farmers were underappreciated by people in their town and I think that is horrible especially after learning how important dairy farmers are from the movie. I learned from the event on Wednesday that dairy farmers are very important to New England because they provide almost all the milk products for the people of New England.
I attended a lecture Thursday, May 25th at Dartmouth by Kalpone Akter. It was called the clothes in your closet tell a story. It was interesting and I am glad that I went. Kalpone was telling a story of how when she was young, her parents got sick and they needed support. They lived in Bangladesh. Kalpone and her 10 year brother decided to work in a factory. They worked 415 hours and they were only paid 8 dollars. In November 1991 they were working with other people and there was a fire in the factory and they were locked by the manager for 2 hours and after they got released but in the factory there was 1100 workers and 112 of them were burnt. There was a decrease of salary in their factory and there was a strike done by 92 men she was the youngest but she did the strike because she needed the money. Later a coworker told her to join a union. At the age of 16 she became a union member. She learnt many things she didn’t know about the law and she learnt many things about her rights as a worker. She was fired and blacklisted because of that. She said that there is a lot of violence in factories. And the Bangladeshi government doesn’t care. She also mentioned that the working condition is the same in every factory they don’t care about the workers, they care about the price of the clothes. People asked how they could help to prevent the Violence and Kalpone answered that they need help from all the countries to speak up and to make sure that if you buy clothes from store you ask the managers if the workers who make the clothes are well paid.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting for me to know about that because i really never thought of where what i wear comes from and what is the condition of the people who make what i wear i think it was great to know about all that.
This is a really great post. Thank you for shedding some light on this really important topic that I will also admit I don't give enough thought to.
DeleteIt's a really important issue and I'm glad you were able to attend.
I recently attended a lecture at Dartmouth College: "The Clothes in Your Closet Tell a Story." The lecturer was a woman named Kalpona Akter. Kalpona is a renowned Bangladeshi labor activist and it was very cool to hear her story and learn about her work. Akter is most well known for pulling clothes with big brand names like Wal-Mart and Disney out of the rubble of a factory in Bangladesh. The desolation was the result of a fire in which 146 workers died. Unfortunately, fires like this are not an unusual occurrence in Bangladesh as Akter explained. She now works for better conditions and wages for laborers and holds big corporations accountable for their actions.
ReplyDeleteAs a child Kalpona worked in the very factories in question along with her brother to support her family. It was hard work that took 11-14 hours out of each day for 6 days a week, and she earned less than $70 dollars a month. Then Kalpona managed to attend a single session of a law class and it "changed her life." She learned about rights and, more applicably, unionization. In 1996, At the age of 16, she became the leader of one of the first workers unions in Bangladesh and embarked on a career of activism as she gained attention.
Akter herself had experienced the danger of fire in factories and the lack of safety measures taken concerning it. She even tells of how when a call of fire was raised somewhere in the factory the managers would insist that there was no fire and padlock exits to keep people working. Akter offered us the statistic that between 2005 and 2013 200+ workers died in Bangladeshi factory fires annually. In response to this in 2013 she partnered with global NGO's and activists and forced numerous multinational clothing companies (including Wal-Mart, Disney, GAP, and Sears) to sign the Bangladeshi Fire Accord. This accord legally bound companies to ensure safer working conditions. After 2013 the annual death rate due to fire dropped to almost zero. The accord is so far Akter's crowning achievement in an ongoing struggle for workers rights and she recently met with US congress to discuss further action.
One specific piece of information that Ms. Akter shared stuck out to me and put the whole topic of unfairness into perspective: A worker in a Bangladeshi clothing factory processes an average of 1200 garments every month. The retail price of ONE of those 1200 garments in the western world is greater than the amount of money that worker earns in a month. That means that give or take 99% of factory products can be turned into pure lucrative profit for the massive company that runs the operation. What the heck.
Ms. Akter ended the lecture by discussing the power that we as consumers have to provoke change. Interestingly she maintains that boycotting is not the answer because as corrupt as it is Bangladeshi workers need the clothing industry. That instead it would be more helpful to buy, but buy responsibly and even inquire with store management about workers rights. If enough people do things like this and show support for people like her and their organizations real progress can be made.
This lecture was enlightening, and it was a pleasure to hear someone who has done so much speak. These issues are real, and the American public is as unaware as it is complicit. As Kalpona Akter says "When it is 2011 in the United States it is 1911 in Bangladesh."
William, I'm really glad you were able to attend this talk. I wish I could have gone as well. Your response is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Well done.
DeletePOSTING FOR OWEN:
DeleteBosco, sounds like you attended a pretty moving lecture. In addition it seems like you wrote a very thorough and thoughtful response. It seems like this lecture had an impact on you. Just hearing about this woman Kalpona Akter has me very impressed, it sounds like she has been through some serious struggles and has become influential in the fight for workers' rights. The fact that stood out to you also stood out to me that corporations can make about 99% pure profit off of the clothes that these Bangladeshi workers produce is ridiculous. I am even more saddened by these horrifying facts when I look at myself and realize the clothes I am wearing were possibly produced in factories where workers are put in terrible conditions. Really shows how tough it can be to be a conscious consumer, but how important it is.