Globalization In Philadelphia - Donna Survillo
Here's the link to my project.
Donna Survillo Public Feed
Collapse Ratings: Uganda & Algeria
Here's the link to my benchmark.
Overall, this benchmark was a little challenging, but nothing that couldn't be handled. It taught me a lot about my election day country and one of the countries from my group study. I wanted to really go beyond what I needed to do for this project and even though I found myself cramming work in during the end, I feel like my overall project is pretty good. There are still a few things that need to be added onto the project, but for the most part, it's finished.
I selected Algeria and Uganda. Both countries reside in Africa (Algeria in the north and Uganda in Subsaharan). Although they both come from the same place, they're not equal in achievements and developments when it comes to the five point framework. Algeria is a little more advanced in its development of a country whereas Uganda still has a lot of trouble with natural resources, neighboring and societal issues.
I began doing my research a little later than I had expected to, but once I got to it, it wasn't really that hard to do. I did my research and made sure to make notes as I went along during the process. Once I had done the majority of my resources, I put it together in a PDF document that showed some creativity along with my knowledge of these countries.
The five point framework taught me a lot along the way. I learned more about Jared Diamond's view on the world and how societies grew as a whole. For the most part, it was really easy, but I found myself stuck when it came to neighbors/trade partners. But I got through it with some help from Google!
If I could change one thing about my benchmark, it would definitely be the process I went through. I should have started my work earlier to produce a better benchmark because I know that the information inside the benchmark isn't as fulfilling as it could be. I would have started earlier so I could produce the best work possible. But overall, I'm happy with my finished product.
I really enjoyed this project. It gave me a new perspective of a lot of things and allowed me to view another country that I probably never would have if I didn't do this project. I'm now able to talk about a couple of countries and how they relate to the five point framework in Jared Diamond's Collapse book.
World of 100 Analysis
Languages in a world of 100:
Technology in a world of 100:
Country of Origin in a world of 100:
Above are the charted/graphed results of my answers, the class averaged answers and the actual answers to the World of 100 survey we took on Wednesday morning in Globalization. My charts/graphs show the answers I chose, the averages of all of the class' answers, as well as the actual answers for the survey. The class averages and actual answers were actually, for the most part, pretty close in numbers. Mine, on the other hand, were way off when it came to them against the actual answers.
I chose to focus on Language, Country of Origin, and Technology. The most accurate of my graphs I would have to say would be the Language portion of the survey. For all but a few of the answers, I was pretty close in range. I figured the most spoken language would have been English because a lot of countries in the world speak English as a language. I also thought that since a lot of countries speak English, that the majority of the people would be speaking English when they communicated with each other. That was just how I thought about it in my mind.
I would have to say that my most inaccurate graph would probably be the Country of Origin portion of the survey. I mean, I was pretty much just as inaccurate with the Technology, but since there were more options when it came to countries and only two for technology, I used the countries. I believe that I was inaccurate because I was thinking of the 100 people all living in North America in a civilization, rather than all over the world. I guessed that since most people who live in North America now were born here, that the majority of the 100 would be too. Sadly, I was wrong. It turns out that the majority of the people would be from Asia, which makes sense because countries in Asia, such as China and Japan, are overflowing with people.
It was a HUGE shock for me when I realized that only 3/4 of the people would have cell phones and 1/4 wouldn't. I thought it would be more like 9/10 with cell phones and only 1/10 without. Since the majority of people now have cell phones, it really surprised me that the option for people with cell phones number wasn't higher.
I think that I was way off on all of them because honestly, I didn't know. I wasn't sure about certain things like, if everyone was going be living in one country, if we were all spread out around the world, how much different would the world be from it is now, etc. It was kind of confusing. I wasn't spot on for any of them. It was kind of disappointing, but it was fun to learn some new and interesting facts from this assignment.
Technology in a world of 100:
Country of Origin in a world of 100:
Above are the charted/graphed results of my answers, the class averaged answers and the actual answers to the World of 100 survey we took on Wednesday morning in Globalization. My charts/graphs show the answers I chose, the averages of all of the class' answers, as well as the actual answers for the survey. The class averages and actual answers were actually, for the most part, pretty close in numbers. Mine, on the other hand, were way off when it came to them against the actual answers.
I chose to focus on Language, Country of Origin, and Technology. The most accurate of my graphs I would have to say would be the Language portion of the survey. For all but a few of the answers, I was pretty close in range. I figured the most spoken language would have been English because a lot of countries in the world speak English as a language. I also thought that since a lot of countries speak English, that the majority of the people would be speaking English when they communicated with each other. That was just how I thought about it in my mind.
I would have to say that my most inaccurate graph would probably be the Country of Origin portion of the survey. I mean, I was pretty much just as inaccurate with the Technology, but since there were more options when it came to countries and only two for technology, I used the countries. I believe that I was inaccurate because I was thinking of the 100 people all living in North America in a civilization, rather than all over the world. I guessed that since most people who live in North America now were born here, that the majority of the 100 would be too. Sadly, I was wrong. It turns out that the majority of the people would be from Asia, which makes sense because countries in Asia, such as China and Japan, are overflowing with people.
It was a HUGE shock for me when I realized that only 3/4 of the people would have cell phones and 1/4 wouldn't. I thought it would be more like 9/10 with cell phones and only 1/10 without. Since the majority of people now have cell phones, it really surprised me that the option for people with cell phones number wasn't higher.
I think that I was way off on all of them because honestly, I didn't know. I wasn't sure about certain things like, if everyone was going be living in one country, if we were all spread out around the world, how much different would the world be from it is now, etc. It was kind of confusing. I wasn't spot on for any of them. It was kind of disappointing, but it was fun to learn some new and interesting facts from this assignment.
Donna Survillo CSPAN - 14th Amendment & Reflection (Q2 Benchmark)
I chose to focus on the 14th amendment because it's something that I can relate to and it effects my life if it were to be changed. I specifically looked into this certain amendment because being Asian causes me to be a minority which the 14th amendment comments on. Section 1 of the amendment states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This matters to me because even though I'm considered a minority, according to the law, I cannot be discriminated against or held from any opportunities that may be offered.
I liked that we got to relate this project to ourselves and why these specific topics were important to us as a person. I really enjoyed the fact that we had a wide variety of topics to choose from and we were able to pick anything from the Constitution. I had a few challenges during the process of this project though. My partner and I split up because of personal reasons and she continued on with the original topic we were focusing on, so it caused me to choose another topic. Another challenge I had was that I'm not so good with video cameras and movie making so I had A LOT of trouble handling that. It was hard for me to get help because I knew I was falling behind and I didn't wanna cause anyone else to fall behind, knowing that it is benchmark season. So my project is late being turned in, but it still got done.
The most interesting fact that I learned was that a lot of times, people don't know that they all get the same rights; even if they are from a minority group. A lot of people believe that because they are a minority, they are not allowed to have the same rights as everyone else.
This project, specifically mine, could be improved by being turned in on time. I could have used my time more wisely and asked for more help when I needed it to be able to get it done on time. I could have also asked for an extension for a couple days and stayed in touch with my teacher who knew what was going on with my partner and I. I ran into trouble with my partner and when it came to technological things, but that was pretty much it.
Overall, a lot of things went well with this project. I learned a lot about the rights that I have as a minority. I also learned a lot more about not only my culture, but a lot of my classmates/friends cultures as well. But if I could do this project over, I would most definitely use my time more wisely.
Lobbying Blog Post #4
Lobbying Blog Post #4
Steps:
Dominate Something: talk to district leader via email or phone or even in person
Do a few things well: give a few good reasons why he should support this issue and help to lower drinking ages. Provide sources and information that can help to persuade him.
Make the strategy personal: talk about why the issue would be personal and useful to yourself/your community.
Force multiply: find more people my age and older to support this issue and
Still need to add to this
Lobbying Post #3
There hasn't been much this year for my issue so there isn't really any status as of now. But in 2008, seven states were records to "consider proposals" that would lower the LEGAL drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age.
In Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina legislatures are working on for military personnel only. In Missouri, the citizens are working on a ballot to lower the age. A lawyer in South Dakota is working on a campaign for young adults (ages 19-20) to buy alcohol with a low level (3.2% and under). Minnesota citizens are trying to work on a bill that allows restaurants and bars to serve alcohol to people ages 18 and older but not liquor stores.
Although I'm not sure who's working on this other than myself, I can figure out who is and try to work with them and collaborate on our issue. Not only myself, but we (anyone besides myself and I) can influence our community and district leaders to look into the issue more in depth for reason that can show evidence and good reasoning as to why the drinking age should be lowered.
As of now, there aren't any meetings or committee hearings (presented to the public) but there may be more to come in the near future.
Minneci vs. Pollard (SCOTUS Court Case Summary)
Minneci vs. Pollard
According to http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/minneci-v-pollard/ this case is about whether the inmates of a federal crime can sue the employees of a private prison company if they violate the Constitution. This case asks: if an employee of a private prison system violated anything that is stated in the Constitution, which harmed or violated the prisoner, would the inmate be able to sue the employee?
According to http://www.americancriminallawreview.com/Drupal/blogs/blog-entry/lafler-v-cooper-attorney-mistakes-plea-bargaining-and-remedies-09-25-2011 basically what happened was a prisoner (Richard Pollard, serving 20 years for drug trafficking and gun crimes) at a federal prison in California was working in the prison's butcher shop and he tripped and fell over a cart landing on his elbows, which both broke. He claimed, in his lawsuit, that prison guards made him do painful, physical work after they refused to provide him with splints after a doctor had even suggested he has them. The prison guards put him back to work before his injuries were better. His lawsuit was a Bivens claim for damages. His lawsuit claimed to have violated his 8th Amendment Rights. His lawsuit is to be decided within the next year.
How to re-locate a license and title/register a vehicle.
Donna Survillo
Flow Chart
Ayanna and I worked together on this project and we chose the topic "Driver's License and Car Registration/Titling." This shows the process in which it takes to switch from one state license to another state and registering a vehicle. It was a fairly interesting and easy process. We gathered the paperwork and filled it out. We also worked together on putting together a LucidChart to visually show the process.
The paperwork, in itself, was very self explanatory. There were a few things that I needed to clarify with Lauf and the website, but for the most part, it was very easy and simple. It wasn't long or anything and the font was legible. I was very happy with the simple process of paperwork.
The fact that we need so many different pieces of "evidence" that we're a citizen and a resident of the address that we place on the paper is something that I would change. I understand that it's needed, but it's a hassle to get every little piece of paper that most people have stored away in hard to get places for the mere fact that they don't get misplaced. But in all, I do understand that it's needed and necessary.
I feel as though the systems have become so complicated because we have so many problems with identity theft and such. They're just being careful to make sure that the person is the person they claim to be. It's very important. Just like the citizenship and residential papers, it's very important that the government systems know for a fact that these people are who they say they are.
Overall, this project was fairly interesting and easy. I enjoyed working with Ayanna as she's very helpful. I wouldn't mind doing a project like this again. This project helped me to better understand the way to transfer your license from one state to another and the way a car is registered and titled.
Lobbying #2: District 10, Brian J. O'Neill
In my district, Councilman Brian O'Neill represents me and my district (district 10). My legislator hasn't voted in the past because it has not come up yet.
Brian O'Neill is a Republican Council man who represents the 10th, and only the 10th district of Philadelphia. He was born on December 23, 1949 (making him 62 years old). O'Neill acquainted the "Philadelphia blunt ban," which bans any item that suggest the seller to be doing drugs. This bill (No. 060345) was "adopted and signed by the mayor." This bill included the ban of feather hair clips, which could be used to hold a roach (the small end of a blunt) to smoke marijuanna from. He's been serving since 1980.
O'Neill went to Saint Joe's University and graduated from Widener University School of Law. Brian was very much interested in Politics and he is a Chairman of the Board of The Public Technology Institute . He is also chairs the Northeast Airport Advisory Council. He's very much involved within his district and makes sure that things are going over smoothly.
Lobbying: A Lower Legal Drinking Age
I am lobbying for the legal drinking age to be lowered. There have been a lot of arguments over the course of the years whether the legal drinking age should be lowered or not. Government and politicians have debated about this many times before.
My motivation is reading on Facebook so many of the kids in my neighborhood's statuses about going out to kegs in the woods, at the "Halloween Spot," which is basically an area on the train tracks behind the local cemetery. I feel as if the legal drinking age was lowered, the teens in my neighborhood wouldn't go out and drink in dangerous places because they needed to hide from adults and police. They could drink in the safety of a friend's house or even at their own, where there could be much less a risk of getting physically hurt. If the drinking age was lowered, adults would be able to moderate their teen's drinking, if they were to drink, so they wouldn't over do it and wind up harming their selves. One of the main supporters of my lobbying idea is John McCardell, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South in Tennessee. Minnesota politicians also want to lower the drinking age to 18 rather than 21 because it'll "stimulate" the economy by allowing the law enforcement resources to be used somewhere more useful rather than trying to wrangle teens who drink.
The main opponents within the drinking age debate are:
- teens
- parents
- politicians
- police
- alcohol distrubuters
Currently there isn't any pending legislation. I would like to see the drinking age to be lowered proposed. I think that it would change a lot for our country, especially those who go out and get hurt by drinking in dangerous places just to hide from the authorities and parents.
Drinking can be a harmless thing, but when it's taken out of control, that's when people need to worry. There is a lot of comments on how people should be able to drink if they are able to serve in the war. One woman stated, "It's outrages that a member of our military can be subjected to the horrors of the war, but can't legally have a beer or smoke a cigarette. Any soldier who braves military combat and risks their life for our country should be treated like an adult -- in every sense of the word."
The main opponents within the drinking age debate are:
- teens
- parents
- politicians
- police
- alcohol distrubuters
Currently there isn't any pending legislation. I would like to see the drinking age to be lowered proposed. I think that it would change a lot for our country, especially those who go out and get hurt by drinking in dangerous places just to hide from the authorities and parents.
Drinking can be a harmless thing, but when it's taken out of control, that's when people need to worry. There is a lot of comments on how people should be able to drink if they are able to serve in the war. One woman stated, "It's outrages that a member of our military can be subjected to the horrors of the war, but can't legally have a beer or smoke a cigarette. Any soldier who braves military combat and risks their life for our country should be treated like an adult -- in every sense of the word."
US Anti-Abortion Laws
I wanted to choose something that I didn't think anyone else would choose. I also wanted to pick something that was going to be of somewhat interest to me. I chose the anti-abortion law because I figured, "hey, that's not something anyone else will probably think of. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be doing historical bills and things that happened a while ago." So I chose my topic from there.
I chose the Prezi format for my project because it gave me the opportunity to 1. explore a new learning tool and 2. give my viewers something other than a Keynote or Powerpoint to look at. It was definitely something new and something I needed to get used to, but I learned a lot from the program itself.
In the process of completing this project, a lot of things began to happen in my life. Things got really hectic at home and I began to get really sick. I also damaged my achilles tendon, so being exhausted from the cast the doctors had me in, left me falling asleep at 7pm, not finishing my homework or projects. I also was just dreading doing the research I had to do because honestly, I, myself was making it seem a lot harder than it actually was. I just needed to sit down and do it, that was it. Once I finally got into the process of creating the project, I didn't run into much trouble.
If I had the chance to do this project ALL over again, I most definitely would. I would manage my time better and get the project in on time to get the grade I should've gotten myself in the first place. I would've also probably tried to understand Prezi more, as it took a lot more time than I would've liked because I was new to the program.
I was able to research a lot about my particular topic. Because the nation is so very diverse when it comes to abortions, I saw the different times that the country went through. Seeing the people physically harm one another was very hard for me to believe. It was very interesting though.
The process what a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I didn't realize just how much information was out there on abortions and the history of abortion laws. This made it a lot easier for me to easily get my project information researched.
Sources:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/07/13/267880/162-number-of-new-anti-abortion-provisions-in-the-states/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-abortion-timeline,0,7911413.story
http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html
Q4 Benchmark Reflection
I enjoyed this project although to me it was EXTREMELY confusing. I wasn't sure of everything we needed in the project even though I asked a few times from classmates what the project was supposed to consist of and even read the paper a bunch of times. The hardest part for me was picking a topic and finding primary sources for it. I did, but I never turned in my primary source document papers. :( But over all, I enjoyed this project and I enjoyed writing about my topic. I chose this topic because I wanted to learn about something that I take part in and how life would be without it. It turns out that life would be a lot different; there would be a lot more people alive and there would be less people with malignant melanoma (a deadly form of skin cancer that can spread throughout your body very quickly). The only thing that I would change is having to fill out the primary source document papers because I kept losing track of them and if I didn't have to fill them out at all, I would have been ay-oh-kay.
What If... The Technology of Tanning Beds didn't exist?
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, forreal this time :)
Penn Alexander School - Benchmark Q1
Penn Alexander (University of PA Partnership School)
By: Donna Survillo and Brenda Chhin
History and English
Chase/Laufenberg
Election Day Interview
Today is November 2, 2010: voting day. We were given an assignment in American History to simply go to our polling place and get an interview with a voter. My polling place is at the Crispin Meeting House which is also referred to as the Crispin Athletic Club; it's right down the street from my house.
I landed an interview with a guy named Michael. He was really nice and extremely up for an interview.
Donna: Hi, my name is Donna Survillo. I'm a junior at the Science Leadership Academy and for history class, we were given an assignment to interview a voter today. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for me?
Michael: Sure!
Donna: Cool, so lets get started. What actually motivated you to come out and vote today?
Michael: Well, I believe that a good citizen should always vote and since I try every day to be the best citizen that I can, I decided to vote. My belief in a democracy also played a part in voting today. Without a democracy, we don't have a working country; in my eyes at least.
Donna: I agree. Do you vote in every election?
Michael: Yes, I believe that it's important to vote in every election. It's easy enough to get your research of the candidates online if you're not sure of who you want to vote for. There's no excuse for not voting.
Donna: [Laughs] Yeah, I believe that everyone should vote in every election. It's important. But do you know why exactly we vote on Tuesdays?
Michael: Nope.
Donna: Well, when voting first started, it was a pretty busy schedule for everyone. People needed to keep in line with their work as well as their days of worship. And because the voting couldn't go past November 8th or 9th, Tuesday was the most sensible day to vote. Everyone was given the chance to travel to their polling place and back without interfering with their work, days of worship or marketing day.
Michael: Wow! I didn't know that! That's pretty impressive for you to know!
Donna: [Laughs] We learned it in our history class. Thanks to my teacher, I now know that and so do you! So, on my way over here, I noticed a lot of campaign ads on the side of the building, on people's front lawns, fences and doors. Where have you seen the most ad campaigning?
Michael: I would have to say on Television. I'm not on the internet very often, but I do watch TV a lot [laughs]! So yes, television would have to be my answer to that.
Donna: Me too. It's pretty much a tie between the internet and TV. Maybe even history class since they're brought in and hung up on our board. I'd have to take a count!
Michael: That's great for teens your age to be getting more and more educated about the voting experience!
Donna: Yep! But what changes to you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this election?
Michael: Well, I'm really hoping to see a fix in some of the Philadelphia bond issues. We need help in selling city bonds to help out with parks and recreational centers. That's one thing that's always been really important to me.
Donna: I think that would be great to see! Well, thank you so much for your time Michael!
Michael: It was a great pleasure Donna! Thanks for coming out today!
That concluded my interview with Michael. I took a few pictures of the voting area. I thought it was a great experience. At first I was kind of nervous to get an interview because the people around my neighborhood aren't the most social people in the world, but I went for it anyways. Here are a few pictures:
I landed an interview with a guy named Michael. He was really nice and extremely up for an interview.
Donna: Hi, my name is Donna Survillo. I'm a junior at the Science Leadership Academy and for history class, we were given an assignment to interview a voter today. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for me?
Michael: Sure!
Donna: Cool, so lets get started. What actually motivated you to come out and vote today?
Michael: Well, I believe that a good citizen should always vote and since I try every day to be the best citizen that I can, I decided to vote. My belief in a democracy also played a part in voting today. Without a democracy, we don't have a working country; in my eyes at least.
Donna: I agree. Do you vote in every election?
Michael: Yes, I believe that it's important to vote in every election. It's easy enough to get your research of the candidates online if you're not sure of who you want to vote for. There's no excuse for not voting.
Donna: [Laughs] Yeah, I believe that everyone should vote in every election. It's important. But do you know why exactly we vote on Tuesdays?
Michael: Nope.
Donna: Well, when voting first started, it was a pretty busy schedule for everyone. People needed to keep in line with their work as well as their days of worship. And because the voting couldn't go past November 8th or 9th, Tuesday was the most sensible day to vote. Everyone was given the chance to travel to their polling place and back without interfering with their work, days of worship or marketing day.
Michael: Wow! I didn't know that! That's pretty impressive for you to know!
Donna: [Laughs] We learned it in our history class. Thanks to my teacher, I now know that and so do you! So, on my way over here, I noticed a lot of campaign ads on the side of the building, on people's front lawns, fences and doors. Where have you seen the most ad campaigning?
Michael: I would have to say on Television. I'm not on the internet very often, but I do watch TV a lot [laughs]! So yes, television would have to be my answer to that.
Donna: Me too. It's pretty much a tie between the internet and TV. Maybe even history class since they're brought in and hung up on our board. I'd have to take a count!
Michael: That's great for teens your age to be getting more and more educated about the voting experience!
Donna: Yep! But what changes to you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this election?
Michael: Well, I'm really hoping to see a fix in some of the Philadelphia bond issues. We need help in selling city bonds to help out with parks and recreational centers. That's one thing that's always been really important to me.
Donna: I think that would be great to see! Well, thank you so much for your time Michael!
Michael: It was a great pleasure Donna! Thanks for coming out today!
That concluded my interview with Michael. I took a few pictures of the voting area. I thought it was a great experience. At first I was kind of nervous to get an interview because the people around my neighborhood aren't the most social people in the world, but I went for it anyways. Here are a few pictures:
