Project Title, Issue, and Action Plan

My groups project is the wood project. Our topic is what is a phenolic resin and why is it used to treat lumber?

our plan is to interview Dr. Schultz, Joe Stark, and Don Hess from Menards, this will give us a good idea of the composition, use, and applications for phenolic resins. We are also going to research what other treatment options are available and how they compare to Joe's resin. We will then report our findings.

Ethical Question

I feel as if it is not ethical for the physician to take the wild tickets. The rep should be selling his drugs based on how they work and if they are deemed safe. If the physician takes the tickets from the rep, the physician will later lower his/her guard around the rep. This would let the drug rep be able to take advantage of his/her lowered guard, and sell the physician bad drugs based on half truths.

Diversity

Diversity for me is the ideals and beliefs that people of other nations and cultures have and can spread in everyday and professional interactions. Valuing and championing diversity will help me to see other ways of looking at the world and give me a more well rounded pattern of thought.

Diversity Statements:

WDNR

Equal Employment Opportunity: The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proud to be among the leading state of Wisconsin agencies in promoting affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and diversity

The DNR supports the development and implementation of policies and practices that ensure Affirmative Action (AA) and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for all persons employed by DNR, seeking employment with the DNR, or seeking access to DNR services or programs. The DNR recognizes that providing affirmative action and equal opportunity is an ethical, legal, social, and economic necessity. The DNR strives to maintain a work force of the highest quality and productivity, and will take affirmative steps to create a work environment that is free of discriminating and harassing behavior for all persons as required by federal and state laws, executive orders and regulations.

The Nature Conservancy:

"For The Nature Conservancy, becoming one global organization means more than working in all habitat types across the globe, and more than working together as one team committed to solving global conservation problems. It also means having a diverse workforce representative of the global population.


The Forest Service 

Diversity Statement

Achieving a Single Mission Through Diverse Perspectives
The Forest Service is made up of thousands of employees from very different backgrounds. But we're all working toward the same goals. For those of us in the Forest Service, diversity means much more than ethnicity, gender or culture. We believe that diverse perspectives help us solve problems more effectively. That's why we maintain an environment in which people from different backgrounds feel comfortable, and in which people feel free to express their opinions and share their viewpoints.

To help employees acclimate to life in the Forest Service, there are several employee affinity groups that give employees the opportunity to interact with others of similar backgrounds and viewpoints.

These and other initiatives support our organizational commitment to diversify the Forest Service and strengthen the diverse population of employees we already have. And the more diverse we are as an organization, the more effectively we can respond to the needs of the diverse publics we serve.

Diversity Mission Statement

The Office of Diversity and Inclusive Workforce Management (ODIWM) manages the Equal Opportunity Program for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) in compliance with the Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, particularly Sections 501, 504, and 508; various Executive Orders and directives from the Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); minority higher education requirements, and other related statutes, orders and court decisions.
The ODIWM staff work to ensure a discrimination/harassment-free work environment for all employees, and to ensure that all employees and applicants for employment are provided a full and fair opportunity to contribute to the fullest extent of their abilities in pursuing a career at the FWS. We also strive to recruit potential applicants from diverse backgrounds into FWS.
Some of our responsibilities include:

• Developing and delivering Equal Employment Opportunity related training for managers, supervisors, and employees;
• Providing guidance and assistance on EEO related matters to managers, supervisors, and employees;
• Managing the discrimination complaints programs including providing EEO Counseling, investigating complaints of discrimination, ensuring implementation of settlement agreements, tracking complaints activities, reviewing reports of investigation for completeness, and coordinating hearings and appeals with DOI, EEOC, and the Office of the Solicitor;
• Collecting, analyzing and disseminating workforce data, conducting analysis of workforce trends, issuing reports on workforce-related data, diversity and complaints trends, and other types of EEO-related information; and
• Developing and monitoring implementation of the EEOC, MD-715 affirmative programs of equal employment opportunity under Section 717 of Title VII and effective affirmative action programs under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Working with FWS supervisors to recruit potential applicants from diverse backgrounds.

Diversity

At the Environmental Protection Agency, diversity is our strength - and a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to employing people as diverse as the nation we serve.

All of these diversity statements are pretty much the same they all say how diversity is the backbone of their company in one way or another. What differs between the companies is the how they word their statement and also some like to show the diversity initiatives they have put forth. I would say that these diversity statements follow along the same lines as my diversity values, embracing diversity helps you to become a stronger entity 

Carbon Dioxide Paper Evaluation

1. My groups presentation can be found here
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0Acr6x1r26iPAZGR2NHp2djhfMGRwOXpkOWRu&hl=en_US

2. I feel the criteria established for the paper were a thorough means to judge whether the CO2 paper was still legitimate today. They covered the two most important items in my opinion on whether a scientific paper is legitimate or not; the journals that were willing to publish the paper,and the resources used to write the paper.

3. The only true strengths the yes side had was the signed petition stating human induced global warming is a myth, and some of the data sources used to write the article. Otherwise the journals that published the article and the shady history of the author were all weaknesses for the yes side. The no side had all the weaknesses of the yes side as strengths. The non credible journals that published the paper and authors of the paper show that the paper was written in a bias manner in order to provide "evidence" that human induced climate change is a myth.

4. I feel like my group worked really well together. We all paired together well and no one person worked harder than the others.

5. My group did not believe in the point we were arguing at all.

6. Yes, I feel the class did make the correct decision in this debate. It is hard enough to try to convince the general population to take action against global climate change. With illegitimate papers such as the one debated about accessible to the public, it could just make the task of saving ourselves that much harder. I say saving ourselves because that is what we are doing, if humanity does not make right what we have done to the earth it will bury us.

7. In my opinion this statement means that if we continue to abuse the planet by polluting it with what we no longer want. That what we no longer want will end up destroying us.

Humanity has been dumping its unwanted stuff such as chemials, paint consumer products in rivers, land fills and wherever else we please since around the Industrial revolution. A majority of this goes to the ocean where it swirls around affects the water chemistry that helps control our weather. As oceanic water chemistry degrades to below the naturally sustainable level weather patterns begin to become affected. With the severe weather that seems to be getting worse every year. It is only a matter of time until huge earthquakes, terrible flooding, and tornadoes destroy most if not all of us.

8. I take "what we do as individuals matters" to mean that all of us have a part to play in the balance of the environment. Even though it may seem like one person toils do not add up to much, the power of collaboration helps to move mountains. Every action we take to live more sustainable such as turning off not needed lights, carpooling, recycling, all help to use less fossil fuels giving the planet more of a chance to heal itself. Especially when a lot of a civilization is acting in the same manner, otherwise we will be working against each other and end up just hurting ourselves.  

8.


   

Establish Criteria to Evaluate Science Paper

1. Credible resources
           found in reputable journal
           cited by credible papers
2. Valid Science Methods
           Is the research accurate, repeatable, non-bias?
         

Presentation on Penny Weights

My groups presentation can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AQ_RhKHQGBQqZGY3bWJmaDdfMWRjcmoyc2d4&hl=en_US
A 1908 penny has a mass of  3.11 grams
The mass of a 1793 penny is 13.48 grams
If some one was to pick up a random penny on the sidewalk odds are that it will have a mass of around 2.5 grams. This is due to the amount of pennies in circulation that have a mass around 2.5 grams