https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g-D0-cvDfRkvzHtUw4NQtE7EQkJNaeg6/view?ts=609fb97f

 

#LO1, #LO3, #LO5, #LO6

#LO1, #LO3, #LO6.

Season 3 Service Reflection

• Planned and created a pickup zone for our plants for a better organisation to help people pick it up. This collection zone was made with the aim to help our service partners know where to pick and drop plants and pots. (#LO3)
• We also started working in bigger pots so that we could work achieve our goal of ethical consumption. We put larger tomato plant, mint, and sunflowers which allowed us to have a sustainable replenishable source. The seed industry has a monopoly and there is no ethical consumption under capitalism…. so we decided to try and create our own seeds. This was successful for the passionfruit plants in the beginning which we grew from the fruit by cleaning and picking individual seeds. We are finding a way to do this long-term as there are issues regarding watering the plants during holidays. For example, after exam leave, I visited the garden yesterday and saw that our sunflowers were almost dead. (#LO6) (#LO7)
• We are constantly reflecting and communicating with our club members on how to improve. We do lots of projects with trial and error to see what works best for us in this climate and garden with the soil and resources we have. We are teaching the grade 9’s the basics and now they have gotten the hang of propagation. We are now trying to see/ plan how to be sustainable in the LR. (#LO5)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eXPPDKPzBBHiaCcoxghj1Uaxh4ZBRAZH/view?usp=sharing 

Shreya and my science fair video

#LO6 #LO7

• • • SEASAC was a pretty boring conference. With the mindset that I was applying and attending an advanced conference, it was a let down to have a very basic beginner debate. Most delegates in my committee were first-timers who didn’t really participate. Essentially 3 or four mainly UWC students were at the heart of our committee.
    • Though the debate didn’t get very interesting or deep It was an amazing learning opportunity. I was able to learn how to explain my ideas to inexperienced delegates who didn’t necessarily understand the nuances of the debate. At the time I was definitely challenged as it became frustrating to explain concepts regarding economics, following your stance, and diplomacy to delegates (some of whom were in MIDDLE SCHOOL OR GRADE 9???).
    • At times the Head chair was also unaware of the THIMUN procedure as he was a FIRST TIME CHAIRS (I myself have chaired 3 times and it was interesting but sad to see the chair unable to follow procedure, especially him being head chair, the sad part was that the dep chair didn’t really help him). Our dep chair had “wifi issues” ( though she later admitted to just waking up late), and even left debate at times partially because of actual wifi issues but also random breaks and her desire to play basketball. I did however understand the dep chairs frustration of being a rep chair considering she was ACTUALLY an experienced THIMUN chair. Overall this conference also taught me a lot about what I would not want to do as a chair.
    • It was weird to have half the committee not turn on their cameras as the feeling of debating a person isn’t the same if you can’t see their face. However, considering that some of those delegates were from Myanmar and the current political tensions, unfortunately, made it difficult for them. It was however interesting to see the global value of MUN for these delegates who were struggling and how MUN became a community to do something practical and interesting to talk about serious issues like the one in Myanmar.
    • Some delegates in my resolution group were fairly good and it was nice to participate in the creating of a fairly good resolution.  In the end, I did end up winning the “Highest Commendation Award”, Though I’m not fully sure what it means. To be completely honest I wasn’t too surprised that I got it seeing as not many delegates participated and most of the ones that didn’t make any sense, low-key shouted, did not understand basic MUN. I do think I could have won best delegate however I did try to correct the struggling chairs (sometimes perhaps slightly passive-aggressively), and at times was not very diplomatic out of sheer frustration. After this experience, I have learnt that after assessing the level of the committee if delegates are not experienced it is not worth it to try to tell them they are wrong as they are not going to understand. It’s better (if you are a delegate) to leave it to the chairs, even if they choose to do nothing about it.
    • There was also the challenge of virtual conferences and planning them for delegates which were hard for this school. Online conferences are also difficult considering hours of staring at your screen for debate is difficult and it gave me a headache.
    • #LO1, #LO2, #LO4, #LO6

Recently we have had a Careers fair in which a neuroscientist researcher was present. Due to high demand spots filled up very fast and many people who were interested in learning about neuroscience didn’t get their opportunity. Shreya and I took the initiative to help people in our activity get the opportunity to talk to. We emailed and set up a meeting with her over the Chinese New Years break. We told her about our club and what we do it in.

During the meeting which was the first lesson back, she talked to us about her job and her journey to becoming a researcher. It was very useful to understand the steps she took to get where she is. Our members were very engaged and we had an hour-long discussion where we asked many questions. She talked about her experience in interning in hospitals and provided many anecdotes.

#LO1, #LO3, #LO6

Over the past few weeks, we worked on preparing our members for the upcoming science fair as well as working on our own projects. The was an opportunity for us to explore global issues and the ethical implications of certain neurological diseases and treatments.

Shreya and I decided to do a research project on Phantom limbs. When Limbs are amputated the leftover nerve cells can often give off mixed signals which can trick the brain into thinking that the limb is still there.  Dr Vilayanur Ramachandrans is a pioneering scientist in this field of study, asking questions such as Why can we feel pain in a limb that isn’t there? How can we itch an invisible itch? How will drugs that are intended to work on the physical bodywork on the invisible body?

Ramachandran came up with the idea of mirror therapy for phantom limb pain in the 1990s.  It tries to get the patient to visualise their missing limb, often doing something casual or relaxing so our previous experiences signal the brain that there is a familiar and relaxing feeling which can put the mind at ease. This idea of visualisation can be seen with athletes too some athletes swear by it; they first visualize themselves performing perfectly—a perfect run down that ski slope, a perfect long jump, a faultless throw of the javelin—and then when they do the real action their brain is primed for the right moves, allowing the athlete to relax effortlessly into the right motions. Though this helps some people there is still controversy surrounding it.

The brain constructs how you feel your pain based on your past experiences and beliefs, and even your genetics, as well as on the actual physical pain sensation from your hand. If you expect your hand to still be on fire after 10 minutes of cold water, it likely will be; your brain will keep the pain volume turned up. If you have been burnt before and know it will sting for a while but is no big deal, your brain will turn down the pain. It’s a sort of placebo effect, a little different from when a mother tells her child that she will kiss the grazed knee better, and the child’s tears dry instantly and she runs happily back to play.

Shreya and I were able to explore the ethical impacts of administering drugs or even placebos considering that they aren’t necessarily going to work. Doctors are meant to help their patient but if they use placebos there is a chance that It might not work. There are also ethical questions about whether giving pain killers for phantom limb pains is ethical considering that pain killers can be addictive and we are using them to treat something in a way we aren’t completely sure about.

The link above is a video of the example of mirror therapy which is a treatment for Phantom Limb sensation.

My mymonofs chair report was due on Wednesday the 13th of January. I submitted the report earlier on in the holiday. My topic was about Tackling the proliferation of Antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a topic that we have previously learnt about in science. I knew hoe antibiotic resistance worked but not about the solutions that were being implemented, as well as the many the stakeholders. For example, Big Pharma and Meat industries play large roles in this issue. Antibiotics are necessary and aren’t very profitable, big Pharma companies aren’t incentivised to research and develop new antibiotics as they aren’t very profitable, however it very necessary that they do.

Here is an extract on the Meat industry stakeholder paragraph I wrote Meat is often mass-produced to ensure that consumers can buy cheap food such as fast-food. To mass-produce meat from farm animals, cattle are often kept in cramped conditions which are unhygienic and serve as breeding grounds for bacteria. To combat bacterial growth, farmers feed their cattle antibiotics. According to the NCBI “It is estimated, at present, that 40 per cent of the antibiotics produced are used for feed additives. Estimates allocate 0.5 million kg to the cattle industry, 1.0 million kg to poultry, 1.4 million kg to swine, and 0.4 million kg to other animals such as companion animals.” As a major consumer of the good, the meat industry has a role to play in solving this crisis. When animals develop resistance to antibiotics which is fed to them this can be passed to humans. In 2015, China announced that they found Colistin resistant bacteria. Colistin was used as a last resort antibiotic only given in extreme situations and wasn’t widely used. However, Colistin was fed to farm animals, who likely passed the resistant bacteria to humans. Due to rapid globalisation, this resistant bacteria could spread throughout the world.  The meat industry can look towards producing meat in more ethical and sustainable ways which could require fewer antibiotics while still trying to keep the price for meat low.” Learning about the meat industry in this issue made me realise how unsustainable the meat industry is. Not only does it take up a lot of resources to produce meat to the point there if the fish, vegetables and food we feed to cattle were to be given to humans world hunger could be eradicated. Producing meat also creates a lot of carbon emissions. I already knew that but to add on the effects of potentially creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs from overfeeding antibiotics to animals I was extremely surprised. Considering the ethical implications of eating and supporting the meat industry I think I will continue to be a vegetarian. I have tried to be vegetarian for a year so far, but once I finished the challenge I had no real reason to continue. Though I have had a cheat day or two I think I will continue to try to not eat any meat. Other than that I have also decided to be more aware of when I take antibiotics to ensure that I consume them responsibly.

#LO1, #LO6, #LO7

IASAS MUN was my 1st conference this year as well as the first advanced conference. It was obvious that the delegates knew what they were doing about and had been to at least a few conferences (though not everyone participated). In my resolution group, we made a resolution on Hampering the economic repercussions of COVID 19 on the economy. To prepare for the conference I did a lot of research on Chile and the different economic systems, solutions and how they function. I was able to grasp a strong understanding of the topic. I was the main submitter of the resolution and this was the only reso in our ECOSOC to pass with no against votes. In fact, my resolution got picked to be debated in the General Assembly ( which is the combination of all the committees where all delegates debate together. My resolution is pasted below. I learnt a lot at the conference and I was able to improve on my debating and thinking on the spot skills. Practising to speak in front of the general assembly was nervewracking and challenging but I did mentally prepare myself ( however we didn’t get to debating it due to zoom hackers and outside factors).

#LO6- global value- Learnt about the global economy in detail and the possible solutions.

#LO5- collaboration- Worked with my reso group and committee to improve on these solutions as well as the other issues that were being debated.

#LO2- challenge- Possible speaking in front of the General Assembly. Explaining the reso to other delegates and convincing them (I succeeded as the reso passed).

Topic: Hampering the economic repercussions of COVID-19

Main Submitter: Chile

Co-Submitters: Palestine, South Africa

Signatories: Luxembourg, Venezuela, Philippines, Burkina Faso, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Thailand, Sierra Leone, Brazil

Committee: Economic and Social Council

 

Deeply disturbed, that the IMF has warned that the global economy will shrink by 3% this year. 

 

Recalling in the first three months of 2020 the G20 economies fell 3.4% year-on-year

 

Acknowledges that The Dow and the FTSE saw their biggest quarterly drops in the first three months of the year since 1987

 

Noting with regret that between April and June 2020, the International Labour Organization estimated that an equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs was lost across the world

 

Taking into account, it is predicted for global growth to rise to 5.8% next year if the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020

 

Keeping in mind that income earned by workers globally fell 10 per cent in the first nine months of 2020, equivalent to a loss of over US$3.5 trillion

 

1. Encourages the implementation of stricter regulations in combating the proliferation of the Covid-19 virus, thus improving the overall health and safety in the country which would benefit the economy, with stricter regulations such as but not limited to:
   1. the implementation of night or day curfews 
   2. stay at home orders or quarantine 
   3. military or police presence in the streets to ensure safety protocols such as but not limited to:
      1. 1 meter Social Distancing
      2. wearing a mask in public spaces
   4. encouraging unwilling protesters to follow rules in ways such as but not limited to:
      1. arrest warrants
      2. fines;

 

1. Calls upon member states to tackle the economic issue of income disparity through the use of fiscal and monetary policies in order to strengthen the economy and ensure that all citizens are well-supported to prevent the widening of the income gap through the use of policies such as but not limited to:
   1. providing stimulus checks to the middle class and lower-income households to boost aggregate demand through spending within the economy
   2. the use of wage subsidies which reduce the costs of production for firms
   3. progressive taxes which aim to reduce the burden on lower-income earners 
   4. cancelling penalties for late submission of tax returns
   5. subsidizing public systems such as public transport in order to support working-class citizens, which in turn will increase productivity within the country
   6. purchasing government securities/Quantitative Easing
   7. reducing the reserve ratio;

 

1. Recommends that member nations create revised trade agreements which, maintains and updates previous agreements in line with the impact and needs of COVID-19 and allows globalisation to prosper rather than contract increasing the global GDP, in ways such as but not limited to:
   1. boosting the confidence in trade and global markets by improving transparency about trade-related policy actions and intentions through:
      1. monthly reports detailing
         1. the countries statistics in terms of Covid
         2. medical needs
         3. finances spent on Covid-19 relief
      2. meetings between member states every quarter
   2.  keep supply chains flowing, especially for essentials such as health supplies and food through methods such as diversifying supply chains to decrease the stress on specific member states for goods and services
   3. avoid unnecessary export restrictions and other trade barriers (eg, more tariffs)
   4.  considering the ethical and environmental implications of modern trade;

 

 

• Encourages  member states to issue new temporary regulations to banks to mitigate the economic effects of COVID-19 such as but not limited to:

 

1. 1. give loan borrowers the option to postpone monthly/periodic loan repayments for the next four months, and for the tourism and hotel sectors for the next six months with options such as but not limited to:
      1. overdraft
      2. restructuring
      3. rescheduling
   2. prohibit the collection of fees, commissions or additional interest on deferred payments
   3. launch an SME fund to provide soft loans to SMEs impacted by the crisis which would be disbursed under the 3% interest rate with a repayment period of 48 months;

 

1. Emphasises the benefits of behavioural economics and understanding nudge theory as to direct consumers towards desirable actions, save the government money as well as ensure the efficient spending of resource, as well as the ways that it can prevent the spread of COVID and through ways such as but not limited to:
   1. creating PSA’s that show the real-life consequences of COVID on a person health and interviews victims of the diseases
   2. starting campaigns like the UK’s NHS’ #helpushelpyou to support and raise awareness for healthcare workers
   3. placing masks and other PPE in convenient locations to influence consumers to buy these products;

 

1. Emphasises the benefits of creating a fixed currency fluctuation range and regulating the value of the currency to ensure that trade is unaffected by detrimental impacts of a rapidly changing valued currency through ways such as but not limited to:
   1. appreciating a currency by:
      1. selling foreign exchange assets and purchasing currency
      2. raise interest rates to attract money flow
      3. supply-side policies to increase long-term competitiveness
   2. devaluing a currency by:
      1. buying foreign exchange assets and purchasing currency
      2. decrease interest rates to attract money flow;

 

1. Approves the use of educational reform/improvements which have long term economic benefits using methods such as but not limited to:
   1. reducing fees and providing subsidies to students and younger unemployed civilians who can rejoin the workforce 
   2. providing specific skills and retraining courses for jobs that will likely be replaced
   3. providing targeted training courses for jobs that are currently required ( eg. Contact tracers, temperature takers, health monitors and workplace redesigners )
   4. exploring and improving online educational platforms and creating strong broadband infrastructure systems. 

 

Initiative and Planning for Urban Gardening Service: Yesterday during Service we planned our goals and Aims for the rest of the year. Below is the table which includes our goals and our plans on how to achieve them. Mrs Jackyl also told us about the local significance of our activity, 6 or 7 activities are directly impacted by our service, the plants we grow are used by the primary, middle and high school gardening activities, The sustainabrew, Raw beauty, Composting and East farmers market use our plants. We also talked about our aim to become more Sustainable by making our own seeds and encouraging donations. We also talked about Awareness and how we want to showcase our successes and encourage others to start gardening. We have planned some informational videos about how to plant and work on improving our portfolio/padlet/websites. We discussed the SDG’s that we focus on. As chairs, Isabel and I came up with these ideas and collaborated with the communication officers, Eddie and Raghavi in our group. One of the other initiatives that we are starting is to create a seed bank. We discussed the Svalbard seed vault in Antarctica, Where countries from all over the world send their heirloom seeds, that way if any nuclear war or natural disaster occurred and civilisation would have to restart we would have access to seeds. Currently, Six large firms dominated the sale of seeds and agricultural chemicals in 2015 in the United States and around the world: BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Monsanto, and Syngenta. This is dangerous as most people will not have access to seeds. Learning to plant and creating our own seeds is very important on a global scale