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The system thinking and mapping plays an important role in helping me in skillfully and critically meet the challenges presented by the topics we have already covered in the class. Take the Six Extinction for example, the systems thinking and mapping can offer a better understanding about the Six Extinction and the interrelationship between various factors, especially the human activities. In this sense, it can pave way for me to get well-prepared for the future design to offer a new insight about the Sixth Extinction and avoid further negative influence upon the Earth. When it comes to the Long Life Design, it sets forth multiple criteria for designers, such as repair, cost, sales, manufacturing, function, safety, planned production, user, environment, and design. Given such a focus, the system thinking and mapping can help designers to gain a comprehensive understanding about designs, incorporate various concepts and requirements, and eventually build long-lasting and meaningful things. In the view of these two typical examples, including the Sixth Extinction and the Long Life Design, the system thinking and mapping can truly benefit designers in skillfully and creatively meeting relevant challenges.
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Since I love reading books and consider them as a unique media for accessing information, I tend to write about the book as a specific object. In more detailed words, this object is composed by specific materials such as paper, gel, and ink which are necessary for printing, binding and other production process. Supposed a book is no longer used, it will grow old and become a waste that is very likely to be recycled. However, it is important to note that the production of a book involves multiple systems and materials. Specifically, the existence of a book is closely related to systems shown below: air system; water system; engineering system; sewage disposal system, and so on. To create a book, the wood needs to be processed and synthesized, so as to make paper and pave way for creating a book. In this sense, the tree farm, paper mill, and other locations are interconnected through the process of making the object of book. The feedback loop and causality include the interrelationship among human, air and water system. While this object’s interacts with other systems over time, it is hard to predict what the new systems might emerge. However, it is predictable that the air, water and forestation system will be influenced by the Anthropocene and climate change. To be more specific, the climate change will require human beings to improve forestation.
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At the current stage, the project has been carried out smoothly and I have seen growth for the kombucha leather.
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1) As I carried out the field surveys, which concerns with the observing system connections among ground, sky, and other systems, I have recoded relevant data as follow:
Date: 28 Feb. 2019
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Queens Near Road, New York City
Air Quality PM 2.5: 66
Temperature: 8 °C
Wind Speed: 4
Humidity: 10
UV Index: 3.7
Time of Sunrise and Sunset: 6:32 a.m. for sunrise; 5:46 p.m. for sunset
Level of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere across the Globe: 412.56 ppm up till 26 Feb. 2019.
3) After I have set the timer on mu phone for sixty seconds and do nothing but look or listen to what I see around me at ground level, I found it hard to realize changes since my last visits. To be more specific, it is hard to find any obvious hint about the air quality index, humidity, UV index or the level of carbon dioxide. The reason is that these conditions are not directly related to personal sense, and cannot be directly sensed by individuals without using practical tools. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the temperature, wind speed and also the sunrise can be slightly different over time and can get sensed more easily. Therefore, it is hard for the human body to sense what the data describe in numbers. As I carried out the field survey, I also realized that other pedestrians were present. Looking up at the sky, I saw nothing but clouds and they seemed to move quite slowly. It is hard to predict any change of weather or climate by looking up at the sky.
4) When it comes to another city in my home country, I prefer to carry out observation and research about Guangzhou, a metropolitan in the south China. I have recoded relevant data as follow:
Date: 28 Feb. 2019
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Guangzhou, China
Air Quality PM 2.5: 119, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups
Temperature: 18 °C
Wind Speed: 4
Humidity: 72
UV Index: 4
Time of Sunrise and Sunset: 6:49 a.m. for sunrise; 6:29 p.m. for sunset
Level of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere across the Globe: 412.56 ppm up till 26 Feb. 2019.
