Class Debate: Against and For Euthanasia

We are currently doing an assessment that is about creating a response to a socio-scientific issue in New Zealand. In class we debated exactly about a socio-scientific issue which was euthanasia we were split in teams one that was for it and one that was against euthanasia.

Our main points: It could cause pressure for them and their families when it comes to making this decision. Also it says in the Bible that you should not take your own life because  Life and Death is in His own hands. In one of His Commandments it says, “Thou shall not kill.” Opening the doors to voluntary euthanasia could lead to non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, by giving doctors the power to decide when a patient’s life is not worth living.  In the Netherlands in 1990 around 1,000 patients were killed without their request. Their lives should be as valued and as important as the lives of people who are not sick. By giving them this choice we are also giving them the message that there lives are also not valued which can also force them into doing this because they feel like there life is not valued affecting this decision. This also show why they should not actually be given this decision because this could be what is actually affecting their decision which is not fair and not a nice way for them to end their lives feeling unvalued and like this is what they should be doing when they really don't want to. The nathaniel center organisation says “The right to die could easily become a duty to die.” This shows that elderly and disabled can feel like they are nothing but a Burden both financially and emotionally making them create this decision.  This is why they shouldn't be given this decision. It’s Murder as although it is intentional a life is still being taken by someone and we should not put doctors in a position where they have to do this. This will have a major effect on the doctors and how it could actually affect them and how the decision of the person may affect them. The aim also goes against the doctor's code there job and duty is to eliminate pain and the hurting of the person not to kill them.  We are giving them a right to die because of the physical pain they are experiencing and saying that it is okay to do this because of the physical pain they are experiencing and because we can't help them fully take away the pain. Are we to also say that it is okay for people to kill themselves because we cannot fully help them with their emotional pain. Emotional pain can be just as bad as physical pain so if we are saying we should allow people to die because of the physical pain they are experience we should also say that people who are experiencing depression and psychologists or counsellors or the people around them are not able to help. By saying that we are also saying that suicide when experiencing huge emotional pain that we cannot fix is okay. I want to clarify the point that bobbi about the emotional and physically pain... Summary It may be there decision but sometimes these decisions can be influenced. Noah’s Ark Rebuttle: God flooded the earth because He saw that His people were not living according to His will

Their main points: Its their own personal choice Information from one of the sites they used to help us rebuke what they may have argued:http://www.ves.org.nz/ To prevent suffering at the end of life, including pain that cannot be relieved by drugs. Some patients don’t want to be anaesthetised for their last days. To maintain dignity in death. Terminally ill patients often lose control of their bodily functions and would prefer to die before becoming completely dependent on carers. To retain personal control and be able to say when and how those with unbearable suffering die. To allow terminally ill people who want to end their suffering to die in the company of friends and family and not have to commit suicide alone. While suicide is legal, a loved one who assists, or is even present at the time, risks prison. To allow sufferers to depart this life while still possessing their mental faculties. This would allow dignified goodbyes to friends and relatives and limit mutual distress. To eliminate compassionate law-breaking which risks prosecution.  It is recognised that some family members and doctors and nurses already assist patients begging for help to die because they cannot bear to see the suffering. A law change would legitimise their humane actions. Surveys show that nearly seven out of 10 New Zealanders across every section of society favour End-Of-Life Choice for those who qualify and request it.  Many are angry after watching and caring for family members who have suffered long drawn out deaths and want a good death for themselves. Assisted suicide is a term we don’t use in New Zealand, preferring the term ‘physician assisted dying’. It covers the process of assistance whether or not the person is able to take the medication themselves or needs someone else to help them. Suicide is currently legal in New Zealand, but assisting in a suicide is a criminal offence.

What they could say back to our main points and how we would shut them down: but they could be forced to make that choice or the choice they make may not be what they really want because they of pressure they might get to actually take this option of Euthanasia and ending their life.   It’s still murder and murder of the people can still be done and if there was a black market people who helped will still be charges because it is illegal and is still murder. There given a choice but jesus was not this was the choice of god if Jesus could go through the pain of the cross we should be able to go through the p

What we could say to shut down their main points: They might have been forced to do it against their will

Information from a site used:http://www.ves.org.nz/christian-and-religious-perspectives

We used this site to support our arguments and fight against the arguments they would have used.

‘God gives and he takes away’

Some Christians and Muslims argue that God gives us our life and hence we have no right to authorise anyone to hasten our death. This concept needs to be considered in the context of our normal lives where we have the autonomy to make many health decisions which causes our life to be either lengthened or shortened e.g. we may refuse medical treatment, or we may choose to undergo many treatments in the hope of prolonging our life. In general, Christians believe that God has given us free will which is part of being in His image. So we have extensive autonomy for life’s decisions, but when we wish to hasten our dying to limit our suffering, some tell us we are not allowed to do that – ‘God would prefer you to suffer rather than get help to end your life. God would prefer you to lose all your dignity rather than being able to say farewell to your loved ones while still conscious’. We are dying anyway, but to enable a peaceful death is against God’s will? Is it? This does not seem compatible with our loving God, and sorrows will be no more when we depart this life to be with God.

Sacrifice may be good for you

Some Christians may argue that pain and suffering are good for your character and this is quite a pervasive concept in Christian thought. There is no doubt that the Bible supports suffering for the sake of the spreading of the gospel, and the suffering of Jesus is seen as necessary for our salvation. Suffering can also bring out good qualities in people. However, it is difficult to find a place where God or biblical writers say that futile suffering and pain is to be desired as one approaches death. Furthermore some argue that those caring for the suffering grow spiritually –but again it is difficult to accept that my suffering should happen to ennoble those watching me suffer.

Transition from life to death

It can be argued that Christians who regard death as a transition from life to another better state should be less worried about ‘hanging on to life at all costs’ than others.

Practice exam answer: Olive Baboons

Today in class we were studying for our practice exam that will be happening next week Friday. This is a practice exam question that I tried to answer to get a better understanding on how a question in the exam could ask about territory and home ranges.

The life of Tiki the Java Macaque

What is a dominance Hierarchy?

Dominance Hierarchy is determined by how dominant and individual is in a group. Depending on what role the individual person has in the group depends on how dominant the particular individual is in. This shows how the Dominance hierarchy is the organisation of the individual depending on there social rank.

How can a place in the Hierarchy be established?

A place in the Hierarchy can be established by inheritance. When an individual is born into a hierarchy the social ranking of the mother can determine the rank of the child. Tikis mother was in the middle of the social ranking she was still below some of the Java Macaque but was also above others. This meant that when Tiki was born he would be below the Children of women who had a higher social rank then his mother but he would be above children whose mothers had a lower social rank than his mother.

Another way they could establish there place in the Hierarchy is through aggressively fighting. As they become older they are able to fight for there place to become more domiant and show that they are more dominant. In Tiki's case he first served and got into the good books of the other Java Macaque on top of him so that he would be able to challenge the Alpha and become the Alpha himself once he was ready. Tiki was born at the top of the hierarchy but through aggressively fighting to became the alpha.

Who is in a Hierarchy?

In a Hierarchy there is a Alpha,Beta and Submissive's. In tikis particular Hierarchy he was above some but below others. Tiki was first submissive to those above him but worked his way to the top of the hierarchy later becoming the Alpha.

How is a hierarchy Maintained?-Agnostic behavior definition 

The Hierarchy can be maintained through Agnostic behaviors.Agnostic behaviors are used by higher ranked animals in the particular social group will use displays to put someone that is lower then them in there place. Agnostic behaviors include threats as well as aggressive behavior.  Agnostic behaviors can include biting,showing teeth,pecking, posturing(displaying strength),Dominant/submissive body language or actions,snarling and warning signs.

Benefits of the Hierarchy?
Hierarchies are helpful as it allows social groups to be able to live together.

The benefits of a hierarchy include that fact that it limits fighting as the particular species know there place within there particular social group. The actual amount of severe aggressive fighting is limited because of this. This takes away the risk of them being killed or getting badly hurt because of the aggressive fighting that would happen otherwise.

The social groups maintained through the hierarchy are able to obtain resources through hunting more effectively as they are able to do it together as group.

The amount of competition between the particular social group is reduced as they know when they are allowed access to mates and when they are allowed access to food as they go by who is more dominant.

Non-Breeding individuals in the Hierarchy can help raise the offspring of others.

Navigation for Migration and Homing

Yesterday in class we learnt about how animals use different types of navigation when Migrating and homing. These different ways included Visual cues when they use their visuals to know where to go, Star compass when animals use the stars to navigate, Magnetic when they use the Earths magnetic field as a way of navigation they can feel the world's magnetic field and can tell where on the earth they are through this, Sun compass is when animals use Sun as a way of navigating.  Homing is  when animals are able to return home after searching for food or mates from a short distance. Migration is a journey made by animals often over long distances, often once a year or once in a lifetime where they move from once region to another.

Godwits are New Zealand Native birds. Bar-Tailed Godwits Migrate from New Zealand to as far as Alaska.  To navigate during their migration from New Zealand to Alaska and back they use all the different types of navigation to get there but also need to be very skill full in knowing the different types of weather they may experience during their journey. Although there are disadvantages while taking this journey the advantages outweigh the disadvantages which is why they migrate. The advantages include their need to find different types of food in different seasons and the amount of food they need in those seasons. The Godwits migrate because of their need to find resources of different seasons this includes Mudflats and seafloor dwelling fauna. The advantages include a larger source of food for birds that will be breeding and for their young. The disadvantages of this long journey is the energy it cost to do this, the chances of being eaten and the fact when they arrive wings are drooping. 

The poster below shows how we know these different types of navigations are actually used by animals

An experience at Teaching

For our lesson with only four students on the 5th of April 2016 we each got to experience what it was like to be a teacher. All of us had to come up with an activity to teach the other students about a particular topic given to us by our teacher.

Tropism and growth responses
First we were taught about tropism and growth responses by Cherub. She taught this to us through doing a word search. The word search did not show us the words but the meanings and we had to try figure out the words for ourselves. The words and definitions linked to the topic of tropism and growth, Overall what I learn't about this topic is that tropism is the directional growth of Plants that may be negative or positive and is in response to an external environment.

Investigating Gravitropism
Lana taught us about investigating gravity. She taught us through a presentation which explained what we had to do. We had to draw how the hormone of Auxin is involved in gravitropism in plants. Overall I learnt that in the stem Negative gravitropsim is happen this is because the bottom of the cell is elongating allow the plant to bend and go against gravity. In the root Auxin is also in the bottom layer but it is telling the cells to not elongate as the top cell elongates. This means that positive gravitropsim is happening in the roots.

Nastic responses
Rita taught us about Nastic responses. She taught this to us through a presentation and Kahoot. The Kahoot was won by Cherub. Overall I learnt that Nastic responses  they are growth of plants in the direction of the plant response and does not rely on the direction of the stimulus.

Investigating Phototropism

I taught the class about Phototropism and how there was investigation conduct of phototropism, I taught this by first making questions through a presentation and then making these questions in the presentation into a kahoot for the class to play. I wanted to teach through a kahoot as it is a fun way of learning and because it would be fun I believed that other students in my class would be more interested in learning about the topic. What I wanted the class t learn overall was about how Auxin affects Phototropism.

Answers to questions in presentation
1.Makes cells grow by elongating them
2.It goes to where there is no light
3. The Auxin become inactivated by the light
4. By differential growth
5.yes

Playdoh Phototropism

In this lesson we made an animation out of Playdoh to represent how Auxin is produced in the shoot of the stem and what happen afterwards. The animation also shows phototropism in plants. This is when plants move in the direction of light. The Hormone Auxin makes this possible as instead of going to where the light is Auxin goes to the shady side of the Plant. The hormone of Auxin works by Elongating cells. This allows the plant to go towards the sun as it bend due to one side being longer. If Auxin happens to grow on to the light side of the plant the Auxin inside will become inactive. This is what our animation shows.

In this lesson we were fortunate enough to not only learn about Auxin for ourselves but through demonstrating how it works our visitor was able to learn something new.

My Critter:Taxis

In class we had to create our own critters.My Critter is called the Octarabbit. The Octarabbit lives under the water and when it is trying to find its way home it sensors the chemical of Randomness in order to find its way back home.  What is orientation response and adaptive advantages for the Octrabbit? 

My First Assesment:Homeostasis

Our first Assessment for this year is about how we maintain stable internal environments Homeostasis. For me at the start of this assessment  I was worried as I felt like I would not do well and did not fully understand the topic. This began to change as I started writing and finding out more information about the topic as everything started to click in to place and become understandable. Compared to year 12 I found that this assessment was a lot easier than last year. Especially if I was to compare this assessment to our gas exchange assessment last year. To be successful for this assessment I reckon you just have to be good at trying to find the best and most relevant information and to be calm and just try your best. Things will become more understandable.

What I know about Diabetes so far?

Talofa lava

The first thing we have been asked to do this year for Biology this year is to write about what we remember about diabetes from year 11. There are two types of diabetes. Type one and type two. There is also a form of diabetes you can get when your pregnant called gestational diabetes. 

Type one is a type of diabetes that is genetic in which people are born with . People with type one diabetes usually get it at a young age. This type of diabetes cannot be cured but can be treated. People with type one diabetes constantly have to take their blood sugar and have to inject themselves with insulin three times a day. 

Type two diabetes is from to much sugar and damage to the body. Some forms of type two diabetes are more severe than others. People with type two diabetes have to eat less sugar and some need insulin.

Gestational diabetes is formed when and her sugar levels are to high because the mother cannot produce enough insulin. This form of diabetes makes it more likely for the mother  and child to develop type two diabetes in the future.

This is just what I remember from year 11 and may not be 100% accurate just letting you all know. Thanks guys :)