What is an issue?

Canadian and World IssuesWhat is an issue?What is bias?

Issues Summer 2013Syria use of chemical weaponsLac-Megantic, Quebec rail fireKeystone XL Alberta to TexasArctic sovereignty HarperMarijuana Prince GeorgeIssues involve:National and/or global implicationsComplex causesComplex, often imperfect, solutionsInterrelated environmental, social, political and economic componentsGroups of people with different points of viewPeople unwilling to compromise

Reliability of sourcesHighest level of confidence in academic articles, professional journals and scholarly books (reviewed by editorial boards)Lower level of confidence in magazines & newspapers.They can be held financially responsible when sued for libel.

Little to no level of confidence in web sites that are not accountable to anyone.

Questions to ask to help validate the information found on a web site:What is the date of the information?What organization published the document?Who are the authors? Credentials, vested interestWhat is the form of the information? Government site, academic journal, blogWhat types of data are used to support the view point? Statistics, polls, opinionsHow was the information collected? Survey, controlled experiment, academic research Do you know of missing information?Does the information match that found in other sources?What is the purpose of the information?Validating information from a sourceBiased information: presented from only one point of viewUnsubstantiated information:not verified by the evidencehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VucczIg98Gw

Song: What Did You Learn In School?Map Projections: Bias?A globe is the only accurate representation of the world.A map projection is created by projecting the features onto a flat surface; each projection misrepresents the Earth in some way.Maps are not neutral.

Mercator MapCompass directions are accurate.Shape and size of regions are distorted: equatorial regions are smaller than they actually are while polar regions are larger.

Peters ProjectionEqual area map. There is no distortion and the continents and bodies of water are shown in their actual size.

Aitoffs Northern HemisphereHammers Southern Hemisphere

Hobo-Dyer Equal Area MapShape of land masses between 45* north and 45* south are well preserved.Land masses at the poles are very distorted.

Minimizes the distortion of major land massesIntended only for representations of entire globeIcosahedron (20-sided)Buckminster Fullers Dymaxion Projection

http://www.genekeyes.com/FULLER/BF-6-later-ed.html

Gall-PetersCassini

MollweideWhich is your favorite world map? From Democratic Underground.comhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7810816

Comparing Map ProjectionsConformal - angularEqual/ Equivalent AreaEquidistantAccuracyScale http://bl.ocks.org/syntagmatic/3711245

Map Projectionshttp://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapProj/Normal/TOC/cartTOC.htmlhttp://geo7lab.blogspot.ca/2010/11/lab-5-map-projections_07.html

South America in selected projections at identical scale. Which projection is best? Which is right? The short answer is none, at least not all the time.Conformal ProjectionsMaintain angular relationships. Compass directions accurate. Shapes intact but area distorted. Scale same in any direction.Examples: Mercator severely distorts size as you approach the poles. Gall Stereographic is an improved version of the Mercator projection which attempts to correct this distortionAzimuthal Stereographic

Equal Area / Equivalent ProjectionsMaintains accurate relative sizes which allows for accurate area calculations. Good to show global distribution. Shape distortedExamples: Mollweide projectionHammer projection Cylindrical Equal-Area projection. Both are variations of an equal area projection but are united in that they both preserve the area of the continents.

Equidistant Map ProjectionsMaintain accurate distances from the center of the projection or other points. Creates a scale that is the same along all meridians. Examples: Equidistant conic Sinusoidal projection: accurate along the Equator and the Prime Meridian.

Maps and TransportationWhich is the shortest distance between Brazil and South Korea? Which map projection helps plot the best route?Mercator or Polar Azimuthal Equidistant Map?

Maps and Social EqualityWest Wing Why are we changing maps? 3 mins.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8zBC2dvERM

http://www.thepolemicist.net/2013/06/pictures-of-world.htmlCartogramSize of an area is proportional to the value of the phenomenon that is found in the area: the larger the area, the greater the value

http://www.worldpopulationatlas.org/

Cartogram of Guardian News Items

Mapping News Alisa Miller: The news about the news 4 mins.http://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news.html

March 17-21$3,750

Distinguishing Opinions from FactsYour opinions reflect the beliefs you hold about the events in the world. They develop as you considers facts you have learned, your values and life experiences.Facts are indisputable truths knowledge that is certain, concrete and incontestable.Polls are taken to get the opinions of sample group and the results are extrapolated to represent the opinions of a larger group.Validating poll resultsHow large is the sample?Who paid for the poll?Who conducted the poll?How were the questions phrased?How was the poll administered?When was the poll taken?

Is a teacher, who is not using technology (computer, internet, etc.), doing his or her job?July 15, 2009

Personal point of view/ biasEveryone has their own particular set of economic and social perspectives. They will colour your viewpoint.Parable of the blind men and elephant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBqgr5xZLz0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVBQefNXIw

What do you see in this photo?Do you see police maintaining law and order?Do you see citizens fighting for their rights against a repressive government?

Map projections attempt to correct for errors inTransferabilityArea, distance, scale and proportionArea, distance, shape and directionDistance, proximity and topologyDistance, shape and lines of latitude and longitude

c) Area, distance, shape and direction

The prime meridian is what degree of longitude?0 degrees45 degrees90 degrees120 degrees180 degrees

a) 0 degreesWhat type of map has all lines of latitude and longitude meeting at right angles, creating much distortion at both of the polar regions?MercatorRobinsonMolleweideAzimuthalGoodes-Homsoline

a) MercatorHomeworkwww.politicalcompass.org Determine where you stand on the political compass by taking a 5 minute test.There's no right, wrong or ideal response. It's simply a measure of attitudes and inevitable human contradictions to provide a more integrated definition of where people and parties are really at.

The categories of 'right' and 'left were established for the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789. They are overly simplistic for today's complex political landscape. For example, who are the 'conservatives' in today's Russia? Are they the unreconstructed Stalinists, or the reformers who have adopted the right-wing views of conservatives like Margaret Thatcher ? On the standard left-right scale, how do you distinguish leftists like Stalin and Gandhi? It's not sufficient to say that Stalin was simply more left than Gandhi. There are fundamental political differences between them that the old categories on their own can't explain. Similarly, we generally describe social reactionaries as 'right-wingers', yet that leaves left-wing reactionaries like Robert Mugabe and Pol Pot off the hook.