Belbin team roles and my team.

Week nine has come to an end, and the seminar set to be sent for mailing today.

Today I am going to consider the Belbin team roles associated with me and my team mates. I remember reading through these roles in week five and finding it hard then to associate any of these roles directly to myself or my team. I found when I did associate myself with a role, there would be a certain aspect about it that didn't quite fit.

I think that our team was unique in the fact that it originally had two member in New Zealand and two in Dubai, and the only way to communicate was email. There was a certain time frame of about four hours where we could all directly communicate with each other if we were available.

Looking into the different roles, I could easily associate Sean with the role of resource investigator in both assignment two (A2) and the seminar (A3). In both experiences, he was a great communicator and completely practical. He gained ideas from the outside for the seminar and A2, these were outside of his subject from A1. I don't believe he was easily bored, as I think he enjoyed sinking his teeth into a paper.

I believe both Mandy and Sean took on the roles of complete finisher. They both paid high attention to detail, and in A2 Mandy had quality control. Sean took on quality control in A3. The role here has introverted noted down. I feel we may all be slightly introverted here, but that may be because we only ever had email contact. This way, we never got to see what we were all like as a team in person.

I feel that I fit into the team worker role, as well as Mandy. We were quite concerned about each other and the team all around. I am not sure we were the social glue of the team, as all three of us were quick to email when we needed to and reply to others thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

I also find that all three of us took on the role of implementer in each of our targets. As we live so far apart, and relied on email for contact, we set tasks and a time and a date to finish. We all stuck to our word and had our own work down on time. I feel we were all disciplined and hard working. I think we all got some direction from each other, and we shared ideas. I don't believe any of us were rigid or hated change as we faced some difficulties in A2, which we all took on board and worked that little bit harder. 

I believe we all played several roles each. I think we did extremely well despite the obstacles. I think if we had have been able to do this face to face from the start, more ideas would have come out and we would have done even better. As we relied on email heavily, we sometimes only got to see each others work close to the due dates instead of throughout. This was a new experience for me, and one I will find a lot easier the next time around. 

How does climate change effect us?

Climate change is a tricky subject. Some groups are willing to turn a blind eye and put doubt into the minds of others, as there is a fear that our comfortable lives may be thrown right out the window. So I thought I would address how climate change has one, proven to be human-caused and two, is happening right now. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2001, noting that the only way to absolutely prove climate change is to do a controlled experiment.

But as we have only one Earth, we are currently doing our own uncontrolled experiment! We are injecting carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and other gases into the atmosphere, and then observing the changes.

And so, here, a computer model can be made to prove cause and effect. It includes all the natural variables from the earth such as weather fluctuations like the El Nino. The variables made by humans are also put in, such as CO2 and methane releases. This model is then a good description of how the system works. It will be able to show how the atmosphere responds to more CO2, or how reduced snow may effect different parts of the world. If the model is created well, it can be re-run, but all the factors by humans may be left out.

If the model without human inputs is inconsistent with the observed changes in temperatures, and if the model with human inputs is consistent, then one can be very confident, that the human inputs have made the difference. This shows that without the human input, the changes would not have been so dramatic.

Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are the three most important and damaging greenhouse gases. All of these gases are released naturally in different ways. But when looking at a graph like the one below, it shows that the natural forcings of these gases are small and relatively average across time. When this is coupled with human forces, then the warming is explained.

Should we care about the warming of the globe? What are the effects of climate change? One that most people have heard about is the polar regions are warming much faster than the rest of the world. The extremes being witnessed are consistent with climate models. In the artic, the sea ice is only half as thick as it was 30 years ago! This affects a range of wildlife. 

Another scary thought is that the Greenland ice cap is melting twice as fast as it was a few years ago, and if it completely melts, it holds enough water to raise the sea level by about 7 metres. All over the world, species are dying out or extending their territories to places that are now warmer or cold enough for them to thrive in.

The worst effect for humans currently would be the extreme weather changes. Droughts are becoming more regular. In Africa, droughts have increased by 30% since 1970. Droughts are the single largest cause of famine. On the other end, there are stronger storms and they are becoming increasingly more damaging. For example, hurricane Katrina, demolished an area the size of Great Britain, and caused $200 billion damage. It was the greatest storm loss in American history. As the climate continues to warms and the weather patterns continue to change, should we be preparing for even worse weather patterns? What can be done to stop this from happening?

Here is a link to a website that gives you tips on how you can help to protect the climate. It has tips for at home, work, school, and on the road.

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/

I hope this has some helpful information. There are plenty of eco-friendly tips on websites, books and magazines out there as well.

Hot Summer - is this a good or a bad sign.

Climate change has caused many debates the world over in the last few decades. And there is now very little doubt that climate change is caused by human action.

Climate change has always been something I am interested in. After all, we only have one Earth. There is hardly a place on Earth now that is not affected by the pollution made by man. One of the biggest effects of climate change is obviously warmer temperatures. As the newspapers this week confirmed, January has broken records in New Zealand (NZ) with an extremely sunny and dry month. The fifth of January saw a 35.1 degree Celsius high recorded in Clyde near central Otago. That far down south is saying something!!

And again hitting the papers this week is record-sized fish being caught in NZ's warm waters. Scientists are saying that NZ is lurching into a drought on the back of a likely El Nino global weather system. Because of this, there are countless marlin, kingfish, tuna, and what was once considered rare, tropical fish swimming in NZ waters.

But what is an El Nino global weather system. An El Nino happens when the ocean and atmosphere change their regular patterns. When the ocean currents shift, areas of warm water slosh back and forth. This sloshing influences low-pressure in the atmosphere, and the consequence of this is a change in wind and rain patterns. 

The name El Nino came about by Peruvian fishermen, who were the first to notice these irregular cycles of rising ocean temperatures as this determined the size of their catch. They named these irregular cycles El Nino, which is spanish for 'the Christ child' because they most often occur around Christmas. El Nino can cause intense storms and heavy rain, but more likely in NZ, warm, sunny weather, or droughts.

The world is getting warmer each year, and 2014 was the hottest recorded in 135 years. The water in the North Island this week touched on 24 degrees Celsius. This is 6 degrees higher than normal. Ocean environmentalists believe the warmth explains the unusually large marlin, and the return of tropical fish. An Aucklander is waiting for confirmation that she now holds the women's world record for catching the largest kingfish at 48.6kg. This was caught in the Bay of Islands.

While catching big fish, being able to swim longer over summer, and enjoying the intense summer may be a bonus for us all, but what does it actually mean for climate change? 

Next week I will address the consequences of climate change itself on NZ and the world in more depth. Enjoy the warmth, as there is still more to come!

Rochelle Potter from Auckland is claiming a world record for this kingfish.

Learning to work within a team.

Welcome back, and I hope that everyone had an exciting christmas with friends and family. This week I have decided to write about what I am learning from my topic for Assignment Two.

This is a very broad concept, as I feel I am learning more from this paper than any others I have taken so far. I am not sure if this because we have a team to keep in contact with. My team is great, and full of ideas and praise for each other. I have found that we can suggest new ideas easily, and ideas are formed through emails to each other.

We have a unique team in the fact that two members live in Dubai, and the other two are in New Zealand, but too far away to have face to face contact. We rely heavily on email contact. I have learnt that this way we really have to watch each others time zones, and help each other out where possible. I try to send through any data, drafts, questions etc by 8pm at the latest in NZ time, as this seems to be a good time of morning in Dubai for the other two members to pick it up. Then they have the day to work with that information, and I normally hear back from them by the time I wake up in the morning.   

I am also learning that while working in a team, we have to stick to what we have said in our work and deadlines. I have chosen to do two of the three questions in Set C: Healthy Communities. As the immunisation question was from my position paper, I already had a wealth of information. With the second question, I have used a teams members position paper, along with some extra information. I was fearful that I would not adequately be able to answer the question. But finishing the draft today, I feel I accomplished all the questions asked within the objectives. 

So apart from learning about immunisations and nutrition guidelines in a scientific context, I feel learning to work in a team has been a lot more beneficial to me. I have learnt to trust that my team mates will get their own work out on time, as well as realising that they also depend on me to do the same. I have also learnt to check my emails regularly. I think that the prompt feedback we give to each other helps, not only in our work but in how we feel about the progress the report is heading in. 

This time next week, we will have a finished report!

Ethics and Genetics - here there is always a debate!

It is the end of week five, and I feel like I have learnt so much from this paper already! I am really enjoying working on the report with my team. It is very refreshing to be in contact with others doing the same paper and work as me.

My blog today is about something science related that is mixed up in ethics. A subject (ethics) that is very important to us as we explore our second assignment.

In Britain, new rules are being proposed that would make it the first country in the world to allow embryos to be made from the DNA of three people in order to prevent mothers from passing on fatal genetic diseases to their babies.

This has been designed for women who carry the severe mitochondrial disease the opportunity to carry children without passing on this genetic disorder. Defeats from the mitochondria's genetic code can result in diseases like muscular dystrophy, heart problems and mental retardation. 

Myself, I did not know that was even possible to do. But apparently the process involves removing the nucleus DNA from egg of the mother into a donor egg. Scientists are saying that only 1% of the DNA from the donor egg will be in the resulting embryo's genes. But that 1% change will be passed onto future generations.

But this has the Human Genetics Alert, which opposes most genetic and fertilization research jumping up and down. They think the medical field is crossing that crucial ethical line that would open up the door to designer babies.

For me, this is where it gets hard. This medical research could change the lives of some women and the children they want to have. But critics are saying this is unnecessary, as the women that have these diseases could use alternative treatment such as an egg donor. But the DNA then would mean the baby is not genetically the mother's at all.

Ethically it is alright to have an entire egg or sperm that shares no genetic history to the person needing it inserted into another person. So how is that alright, but changing 1% of the DNA of the mothers egg for medical reasons is not? I can see where they can see the future being paved for designer babies. But if the only option was for medical reasons, so that these women just like the women who can only rely on a donor egg could have their own child, then why not?

Here I stand completely torn. I know I do not know enough about this subject to make a sound judgement. I feel for medical reasons, this is an opening to prevent a disease from spreading throughout more generations as a positive. But as the same time, here we start to tinker more with genetics and the big ethical debate of interfering with what is considered biological and given. Genetically modified babies does not have a sweet ring to it.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11375956

Immunisations are important for all of us.

Week four already! The time has just flew by being so close to Christmas.

For my blog today, I have chosen to write about why my topic, being immunisations, matters to other people, and for the world in general.

Last week I mentioned how vaccinations have been one of the most successful interventions in the history of public health. Vaccinations have helped to control some of the most debilitating and deadly diseases and also managed to eradicate Smallpox.

Vaccinations matter to other people because as parents or for the safety of ourselves, being vaccinated can ensure we are protected from those diseases. I am pretty sure if a vaccination came out to prevent people from getting cancer (if such a thing could ever exist) that half the world would be lining themselves and their children up for it. Maybe something similar to the HPV vaccine for girls, but for all cancers.

Vaccinations prevent outbreaks of disease, and can keep the community at large safe. Diseases can be brought in by international travellers, and if not immunised this can be picked up quickly. Having as many people as possible vaccinated can prevent a disease from spreading. This is known as herd immunity. This is a form of immunity that can occur when a significant portion of a population provides protection for the individuals who have not developed immunity.

Because diseases pass from one person to the next, the chains of infection are likely to be disrupted when large numbers of a population are immune. And so here, people who are not immunised have less of a chance to catch an infectious disease. Also, with herd immunity, the pathogen may eventually disappear.

Immunisations are important for the whole entire world. Keeping the country you live in as immunised as possible prevents outbreaks of disease and can prevent diseases that have not been around for years such as Polio from arising again. Polio is restricted to four countries in the world now, and is the next target for eradication. But because the countries where this disease still prevails are unstable, such as Afghanistan, it has been nearly impossible to meet this target.

Vaccinations matter to every single person on the planet. Educating people about the benefits of vaccinations will help pave the future for a healthier and less diseased world.

Week five is upon us! Time to crack down on assignment two! Good luck!

The immunisation debate.

Good afternoon and I hope everyone has had a productive week so close to Christmas!

In writing my position paper, I have learnt where a lot of the hype has come from with the link to Autism and vaccinations. And that is the perfect place to start my blog today.

In 1998, The Lancet, a major medical opinion in the world published the article ‘Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children’, by Andrew Wakefield.

Right here I will stop and point out that in 2011 this article was found to be inconclusive, could not be replicated, and was found to have ethical misconduct associated with the children selected. But at the time of publishing, many parents completely stopped vaccinating their children. To this day, many parents still believe what was written long after it has been discredited.

This is because this is the article that linked the triple vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella to Autism. In this article, the researchers showed that there seemed to be a link between the Rubella virus and Autism with the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine rather than the monovalent measles vaccine. It was noted in the research that for 15-20 autistic children, the first symptoms developed within a week of vaccination. It was not proven in this research that the vaccine caused Autism, but the link was made and there was a call for more research to be done. The damage was done. Since then, research suggests “Wakefieldism” as it is called continues to cause harm throughout the globe. Andrew Wakefield still stands behind his research to this day and he has followers dedicated to his cause. Wakefield has taken this position because the children he studied showed signs of Autism, with regressive behaviour shown after the MMR immunisations, and he wanted further research to be done as a lot of children were receiving this immunisation.

However, battling for the other side, and a great place to start on researching immunisations is the article ‘Vaccination: A public health intervention that changed history & is changing with history’, by Richard Stein.

Stein’s research shows that vaccinations have been one of the most successful interventions in the history of public health. Vaccinations have helped to control some of the deadliest and most debilitating infectious diseases. Stein shows that as a result of vaccination programs, Smallpox was eradicated and Polio has emerged as the next eradication target.

When looking into the history of vaccinations, in the years between 1783 and 1800, 50% of children in Glasgow died before the age of 10, with 40% from Smallpox alone. When The World Health Organisation started a global vaccination campaign in 1967, Smallpox was causing 10 to 15 million infections annually. But by 1979 (only 12 years later), Smallpox was eradicated from the globe. Vaccinations have helped to stall and prevent further illness of infectious disease all over the world.

In Stein’s research article, communicating the benefits associated with vaccination, and ensuring the public receives accurate information is still something that needs to be addressed. Stein has taken this position as he has researched the history of vaccinations and can see the positives linked to vaccinations worldwide.

Researching the two sides of the immunisation cause has educated me in a way I would never have looked into otherwise. Knowing where the link to Autism and immunisations came from, I can now talk to others about it should the subject arise.

Our position papers are due tomorrow! Have a great day!

Stein, R.A. (2011). A Public Health Intervention that changed History & is Changing with History. The American Biology Teacher, 73(9), 513-519. doi: 10.1525/abt.2011.73.9.3.

Wakefield, A.J., Murch, S.H., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D.M., Malik, M., Berelowitz, M., Dhillon, A.P., Thomas, M.A., Harvey, P., Valentine, A., Davies, S.A., & Walker-Smith, J.A. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 351(9103), 637-641. doi: 10.1016/50140-6736(97)11096-0.