Black Friday Sales

The students are back from a long Thanksgiving weekend. This article discusses the weekend's retail sales figures. Those students who were out shopping on so-called "Black Friday" may be able to express their observations. This lesson may show those students that anecdotal observations do not necessarily explain the entire story.

Questions:

1. What were the store sales over the weekend (dollar figure)?

2. Is this figure higher or lower than last year?

3. (a) Were the weekend's online sales higher or lower than last year's Thanksgiving weekend sales?  (b) By what percentage?

4. (a) What are the author's sources of the information provided? (b) Can you trust those sources as being accurate and truthful? (c) Explain why you can or cannot trust those sources.

5. Why should we care about sales figures and the success of stores (both online and brick and mortar)?

Article Link:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/28/us-usa-holidayshopping-idUSKBN0TH0R020151128#PSmBohaIT19xz8h4.97

Claiming the Arctic

A race is brewing to claim Arctic Seafloor. As the polar ice caps melt at the top of the Earth, a new oil race is on to claim the area. The Arctic is believed to hold one of the largest amounts of untapped oil on Earth. Russia, Denmark, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and the United States all have seabed to claim.

Russia plants a flag on the bottom of the ocean to claim the land:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-08-08-russia-arctic-flag_N.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6927395.stm

Canada disputes Russia's claim:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=azq0FfbfnT6k&refer=canada

New Fossils Challenge Evolution

"Previously, the hominid Homo habilis was thought to have evolved into the more advanced Homo erectus, which evolved into us.

Now, habilis and erectus are thought to be sister species that lived at the same time."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6937476.stm

Eating Disorders and Myspace/Facebook

"Pro-anorexia websites offering tips on extreme dieting are nothing new, but their growth on social networking sites is a disturbing new twist and brings them within reach of a wider audience."

Eating disorders can cause infertility, heart disease, and death. Anorexia nervosa has a higher mortality rate than any other psychiatric illness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6935768.stm

Air Pollution Affecting Sports

Air pollution in China could force endurance events such as cycling to be postponed in the 2008 Summer Olypmics in Beijing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20169331/

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/sports