Will a "hypertext" world make us more accepting of cyclic history?

A hypertext is a text shown on a computer or other electronic device that links to another website, image, video, audio, or text. It is an easy way to share information over the internet. In a hypertext world, it would help us adjust to the theory of cyclic history by making it easier to accept the fact that some things go in a cycle while others go in a certain order from beginning to end. The theory of cyclic history consists of the belief that history repeats itself like in a cycle. It is mostly supported by politics, recession, and the stock market which all somehow repeat themselves over time. A hypertext can lead you to another site but you can also go back to the site that you were first on like making a U-turn while driving. This is not exactly making a full cycle but it has the same concept of repeating itself. However, a hypertext can also lead you to more sites. These sites are different and will probably not lead you to the same site you were first on. But you can always go back in your internet history and find the first site you were on or click on the back button on the webpage. This proves that sometimes you can repeat things even though it doesn’t happen in a cycle linking one thing to the next and back around again. A hypertext is helping us to adjust to the cyclic theory of history and become more accepting to the fact that some things do repeat themselves.   

Don't our traditional forms of information communication, notably "the book" and especially "the text book" contribute to our belief in linear history?

The theory of linear history is that history goes from the beginning to the end without repeating itself like in the theory of cyclical history. Linear history is best represented by a time line where you can see how it progresses throughout history. This theory consists of believing everything happens in a certain order. We learn things in a linear order going from one subject to the next but not repeating itself. Books and text books support the theory of linear history too. Teachers normally go through the book from the beginning to the end such as in the theory of linear history. Books and novels for literature also go in order from the exposition to the resolution or denouement. Text books for school start at chapter one then go on until the index each chapter, teaching us about a different unit from before. All books and texts book don’t repeat themselves, but in literature they can have a motif. Most people probably do consider history to be linear instead of cyclical because they see that throughout history there are a chain of events. One thing leads to another and then has a result, but nothing really repeats itself. They believe it more to be a cause then an effect progression instead of a cycle of events repeating themselves. Our traditional forms of information communication can help us learn more about the theory of linear history and what it consists of. Linear history is a major part of the way we live.         

Is modern life always "better" than it was in the past?

I wouldn't say modern life is always better than the past, but in some cases it is such as in cures for illnesses and viruses. Now we have developed so many different kinds of medicine to take that many of the diseases that used to be considered deadly are now not. People now in modern life are expected to live longer and are healthier than in the past. But our health isn’t the only thing that has improved; technology now has immensely advanced within the past years. People living in the nineteenth century wouldn’t have even had any idea what a cellphone is. However now a days we rely on cellphones, laptops, and the internet to just get through the day. But there are also some ways that modern life now is worse than the past. The pollution now has increased a lot over the years, which is ruining our natural environment. Greenhouse gases that are dispensed into the air only increase global warming. Water pollution causes about fourteen thousand deaths per year from the contamination of drinking water. Also due to the progress of automobiles, a side effect is that it is one of the main causes for air pollution. Ozone pollution can also cause health problems such as respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. A good way to help decrease the amount of pollution is to recycle. Without pollution control the waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation, and other human activities will diminish the environment.               

Does history progress? Is an elephant really "better" than a mammoth?

No matter what I think history always progresses even though there might be some mistakes, regrets, or difficulties along the way. Mainly I think this because over time people learn from their mistakes and then become better. The same mistake may be made to finally get it right but in the end I still think there is some sort of gain whether it is in knowledge or improvement. 

Elephants are known to be the descendants of mammoths or in Latin also known as the mammuthus. They are both in the same family called the elephantide which are made of terrestrial meaning animals that primarily or entirely on land. To be in the elephantide family the animals also have to be mammals with trunks and tusks. But, most of the species in this family are extinct including the mammoth. They were thought to originally been in an origin from Stegodon, but then developed in Africa. Wild elephants can now be found in thirty seven different countries in Africa and certain parts in Asia. However, you can also see elephants in zoos all over the world. Even though mammoths are extinct, elephants and mammoths are still very similar. The mammoths’ trunks had two finger-like projections such as the African elephants have now and their teeth were flat like the Asian elephants’. Elephants aren’t exactly better; they are just used for different reasons. The mammoth were used for their long hair for clothes and shelter but also their meat for food and tusks for weapons. Now in some places elephants are used to help carry wood and transportation. They are being hunted for their ivory which is the main component in the teeth and tusks of animals. The elephants’ habitat is also being destroyed and diminishing caused by human activity. Soon elephants could also become extinct just like the mammoth are now if people don’t become more aware of their effects on the environment and the animals that live in it.                 

Midterm #14

1. Find ways to volunteer at a soup kitchen
2. Research third world countries then what we could do to help their situation
3. Adopt an endangered animal
4. Find ways to conserve electricity at home
5. Donate money to foundations in need
6. Visit the Red Cross website to find a place to donate blood
7. Research local places to complete service
8. Register for a 5k run
9. Register for the Polar Bear Plunge
10. Visit a local animal shelter website

Midterm #6

1. The green house effect is suspected to cause part of the climate change.
2. Human activity has also been adding to this green house effect to by increasing concentration of green house gases into the atmosphere.
3. Yes, it has but not globally.
4.

Midterm #10

1. The first topic that I think is the most important is why the G-20 was setup because then we know what the reason for the G-20 was. The second most important topic about the G-20 is what is the criteria to become a member so then not everyone can be a member. The third most important topic is how are the G-20 taking forward work remitted to Finance Ministers by Leaders so then we know what they are doing to help us and our world.

Midterm #9

The United States and France both want to be allies when it comes to terrorism. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, thinks that the best way to handle the terrorists is to fight them wherever they are.

Midterm #6

1. The green house effect is suspected to cause part of the climate change.
2. Human activity has also been adding to this green house effect to by increasing concentration of green house gases into the atmosphere.
3. Yes, it has but not globally.
4.

Midterm #2

1. teal blue
2. 3:20
3. St. Paul's Chapel
4.

Midterm #7

1. Regional food hub is a facility with a business management structure. It assists the progress of aggregation, storage, processing, distribution or marketing locally of regionally or locally processed foods. Some of the benefits are that they expand market opportunities for agricultural producers.
2. Poultry- Broom's Bloom Dairy, Beef- Hickory Chance Farm, Vegetables- The Mill of Bel Air
3. A John Carroll Sustainable Foods Day would be good not only for the students but also for the teachers. Then we could taste more foods that are better for us in an easier way. There are plenty of USDA organic food markets near by too. We could also have an assembly with a guest speaker to inform us about sustainable foods so then the students here at John Carroll could be more aware of these foods. 


1700 South Fountain Green Road  Bel Air , MD  21015

Midterm #5

Midterm #4

There are so many names for soda in New Mexico because people coming from all different places have emigrated there and have continued to speak the way they are used to.

Midterm #3

Los Angles http://www.koreatimes.com/article/639616

Midterm #1

The sudden dip in 2001 was probably caused because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon also know as 9/11. This event would cause other countries to think that the United States was unsafe which would explain the lack of oversea arrivals to the US.  

Q&A

Sydney Setree: What is your name?

Lionel Owona: My name is Lionel Owona.

Sydney Setree: So Lionel, where were you born?

Lionel Owona: I was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Sydney Setree: Do you miss Cameroon?

Lionel Owona: I miss Cameroon sometimes.

Sydney Setree: What do you miss the most?

Lionel Owona: My family and my friends.

Sydney Setree: How is your home town different from the United States?

Lionel Owona: Here the houses, the roads, the food are different.

Sydney Setree: Was it hard to adjust to all the changes in the United States?

Lionel Owona: It wasn’t so hard because it was the same thing when I was in Cameroon.

Sydney Setree: What was the hardest thing to adjust to?

Lionel Owona: I really didn’t find it hard. I just have to learn to speak English well.

Sydney Setree: Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Lionel Owona: I have two brothers and two sisters at home.

Sydney Setree: Did any of them come to the United States with you?

Lionel Owona: I am with my two brothers here.

Sydney Setree: Are you the youngest, the middle child, or the oldest in your family?

Lionel Owona: I’m the youngest brothers of my family.

Sydney Setree: What grade are you in?

Lionel Owona: I am in 9th grade.

Sydney Setree: What was your first language?

Lionel Owona: My first language is French.

Sydney Setree: When did you come to the United States?

Lionel Owona: I came to the United States in July.

Sydney Setree: Why did you decide to come to the United States?

Lionel Owona: I decide to come to come to the United States to get the best education.

Sydney Setree: Are you glad you came to the United States?

Lionel Owona: I’m very happy today here.

Sydney Setree: Where do you go to school?

Lionel Owona: I go to John Carroll.

Sydney Setree: Do you like John Carroll?

Lionel Owona: I like John Carroll so much.

Sydney Setree: What subject do you like the most?

Lionel Owona: What I like the most algebra.

Sydney Setree: What subject do you like the least?

Lionel Owona: I really like all my subjects at John Carroll.

Sydney Setree What subject do you find the easiest? Why?

Lionel Owona: Algebra because I’m pretty good at it.

Sydney Setree: What subject is the hardest for you to do well at?

Lionel Owona: The hardest subject is Catholic Church because I’m still learn the bible.

Sydney Setree: What are the differences between American schools and schools in your home town?

Lionel Owona: American school is easier than the school in my home town.

Sydney Setree: Is there anything in the United States that you have particularly liked?

Lionel Owona: I like basketball at John Carroll.

Sydney Setree: Do you still speak your first language at home or with family and friends?

Lionel Owona: Yes, I do speak my first language at home with my family and my friends.

Sydney Setree: In the United States have you found any use for your primary language?

Lionel Owona: Not really.

Sydney Setree: How did you learn English?

Lionel Owona: I did learn English in watching the T.V. in English.

Sydney Setree: What is the most difficult thing about learning English?

Lionel Owona:  The most difficult when you learn English is to speak well.

Sydney Setree: How long did it take you to be able to speak English fluently?

Lionel Owona: Three months.

Sydney Setree: Would you say you’re fluent in English now?

Lionel Owona: Not fluent but I can say I understand and can speak English well.

Sydney Setree: Do you think it’s easier to communicate with English or French?

Lionel Owona: For French and English are similar because we have many words in English that we find in French.

Sydney Setree: Have you benefitted in any ways from learning English?

Lionel Owona: Yes I did.

Sydney Setree: In what ways?

Lionel Owona: Speaking, reading and listening.

Sydney Setree: When do you plan on leaving the United States to go back home?

Lionel Owona: I don’t decide yet.

Sydney Setree: Do you think you’ll continue to speak English when you get back home?

Lionel Owona: I will because English will be my second language.

Sydney Setree: Are you going to be excited to go back home?

Lionel Owona: I’ll be very excited when I’m going to get back home.

Sydney Setree: Will you miss anything from the United States?

Lionel Owona: I will miss everything to the United States but I’ll stay here for a long time.

Sydney Setree: What will you miss the most?

Lionel Owona: My friends here.

An Exchange Student in Qatar

As a foreign exchange student in Qatar I have learned a lot of different things about living in that country. If I lived in Qatar I would have a 94.62% greater possibility of being employed and would spend 58.94% less on health care. However, I would die 2.73 years sooner compared to living in the United States. In Qatar I also would have had a 99.35% better chance of dying if I lived there. While I was there it was fun to see the city of Doha and also to experience all the different customs that they take part in such as their national day. It is celebrated on December 18 and includes a boat show and fireworks. I also got to see the inside of Qatari's Prince's historic mansion. By the end of the trip I learned a lot more things about living in Qatar and also got to take part in some of their traditions.

boat show on Qatar's National Day

Qatari's Prince's historic mansion