Thursday, April 1, 2010

Orang-utans - Another Information Report

After you have read the article on the Orang-utans from Honolulu Zoo, read this article from National Geographic.

1. What are the similar pieces of information given?

2. What can you find in the first article you read but not in the other?

3. Why?


Think in terms of the purpose, audience and context in which the articles are written and post your responses as a comment.

33 comments:

  1. 1. They talk about the Orang-Utan's arm span as well as the fact that it lives most of its life off the forest floor. It also talks about its diet and how it looks for its food.

    2.The first article contains more adjectives thus making it easier to read while the second article is more factual.

    3.I think this this is because the articles are suited for different purposes like the first one is mostly for casual reading while the second one is more suited for research.

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  2. 1. Many information like the Orang-Utan's diet, habitats, characteristic.

    2. I can find more detailed characteristics like the colour of the Orang-Utan and about the physical parts of its body.

    3. That might be because that the first article came from a zoo, where most Orang-Utans can be found, while National Geographic is a general organisation which not only talks about animals but also about the nature

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  4. 1.In both articles, information given are the translation of its name, its description and its diet.
    2.In the first article, the origins of its name is given and there is a more detailed description of it.
    3. The first article is most likely from a zoo and thus the information on Orang-utans should be more detailed.

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  5. 1. They have roughly talked about the same information.

    2. In the first article, they have talked about the orangutan's behaviour.

    3. The first article is targeted at people who want to visit the zoo while the second article is targeted at people who want to find out about the orangutan in its natural habitat.

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  6. 1. Both articles mention the same information such as the diet, habitats or characteristic.

    2. The second article describes the Orang-Utan with less adjectives and more information, making it to the point.

    3. I think it might be because the two articles are targeted at different people.

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  7. Looking at the article taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangutan, this article is better than the other two as it gives more detailed information about the Orang Utan. It provides information just like a combination of the two previous articles I have read. Not only the article gives information in text form, it also has an embedded video and links to other articles that people can refer to.

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  8. Sorry for double-post

    1) The history, physical characteristics and diet of the Orang-utans are found in both articles.

    2) In the first article, there is the percentage of decline of the population of the orang-utans by 92% compared with a century ago. While in the second article, there is some information on the orang-utans decline in numbers but the information is not that precise.

    3) The first article is more of a detailed report on the orang-utan while the second one is some-what of an overview of what orang-utans usually do. e.g. what they eat and what are their feeding habits. But the second one does not explain in depth compared to the first one. This be because the first article originated from the zoo where they can observe the orang-utan properly while the second article originated from a world-orginisation in which they have to observe orang-utans in captivity and the wild. Even so, they would not really understand the orang-utans as much as the zoo who spends time with the orang-utans everyday.

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  9. 1)The meaning of the word 'Orang-utan'
    Their diet
    They spend most of their time in the trees of the rainforest
    Orang-utans are facing extinction due to deforestation and logging

    2)Difference between the coat of the young and the old
    Description of their jaws
    Traveling distance in a day
    Description of movement in the trees and on ground
    Favourite food
    Meaning of the word 'Orang' and 'Utan'
    Description of their feet
    How they use their hands and legs

    3)I think that the first article was to give readers a first impression and a rough idea of how the Orang-utan looks like. The purpose and audience could be people who have not seen Orang-utans before and to let them know roughly how it looks like and its different characteristics.

    Darius Low

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  10. 1. The meaning of the name, their adaptations for a better chance of survival, the length of the arms, their daily lifestyle, their diet & why they are endangered.
    2. The origins of the orang-utan, the colours of hair, and their favourite fruit.
    3. I thing that these characteristics are observed as the source of information is from a zoo, where they closely observe the progress of the orang-utans.

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  11. 1)Some of the similar pieces of information are the behavior of orang-utans,the physical characteristics,behavior,food and the fact that they are an endangered species.
    2)The fact that orang-utans originated during the Pleistocene period and that the durian is the orang-utan's favourite fruit.
    3)It might be because the first article is targeted at the zoo's visitors that want to know more about the orang-utan(s) that might be in the zoo so it uses more descriptive words.The second article contains more facts and might be targeted at more professional readers who want to know some things that they might not be able to get at zoos.

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  12. 1. Both tells me that orangutan means "person of the forest" in English. Their arms are well suited to their lifestyle because they spend much of their time in the trees of the rain forest. Their diet contains mostly of fruit. They are on the verge of extinction because of logging, etc.

    2. The first article describes more on the physical characteristics of the orangutan.

    3. The first article is more detailed as compared to the second which describes only briefly on the orangutan.

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  13. 1. The habitat, behavior and characteristics of the Orang-Utan are stated in both the articles.
    2. The first article had a more detailed write-up on status and conservation and more information on the physical characteristics could be found compared to the second article.
    3. The first article is taken from Honolulu Zoo so the audience was mainly tourists wanting to know more about the animal. This article would focus on the side of the animal that appeals to the tourists. But the second article from National Geographic is a factual report for people doing a research.

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  14. 1. Both articles state what orangutan stands for, that Orang-utans have long arms and about their diet.
    2. In the first article, it contains more adjectives to explain in greater detail as compared to the second article.
    3. I think this is because the second article is from a organisation that talks about enviroment changes, animals, and many more, so it is more researched and factual as compared to the first article which is from a zoo which can describe more by observing the Orang-utans daily.

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  15. 1. The similar informations are the history, the physical characteristics, behavior of orang-utans and the food that an orang-utan consume.

    2. The status and conservation of orang-utans was not written the the article from National Geographic.

    3. In my opinion, I think that it was because the article that came from the zoo wanted people to know that the orang-utans are endangered. However, National Geographic targets people who wanted to know general informations about orang-utans.

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  16. As opposed to the first and second articles, the article that I have found at http://www.orangutans.com.au/Orangutans-Survival-Information/Orangutan-Facts.aspx is somewhat talking about the different types of orang-utan and its relation to other great apes.

    My favorite article is still the first one as they use many different adjectives t describe thus making it more interesting.

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  18. Q1) Both articles wrote about where the name orang utan came from, that orang utan stayed in trees most of the time, that the orang utan's diet mostly consisted of fruits and that they are facing extinction as they are losing their habitat,which is a result of logging.
    Q2) The first article is more detailed in a sense that they present their information in percentages, for example, they said that legs of the orang utans are about 30% shorter than their arms.
    Q3) Their target audiences are different, compared to the first article, the second article was targeted at a wider range of people so the information was simplified so that more people could understand the article.

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  19. 1) They talked about the physical characteristics of an orang-utan, their behavior and the food they eat.
    2)The first article was more interesting as it has more adjective while the second article is more factual
    3)I found the first article easier as it is targeted to children while the second article is for adults.

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  20. 1) The Malay word orangutan means "person of the forest." Orangutan spends most of their daylight hours foraging food. Orangutans face extinction as their natural habitats are being destroyed due to illegal logging.
    2) Orangutans are more solitary than other apes as they have their own territories. The female orangutan share a strong bond between the mother and the young.
    3) The reason why males are more solitary is because they hunt for food every time. This is to ensure others do not invade the ape's territory and steal the food available there. Just like humans, orangutans are also learning animals. The mother must protect the young as she only give birth once every eight years.
    The zoo only give the more interesting information to attract visitors while National Geographic gives more in-depth information for those who want to know more about orangutans.

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  21. 1. The origin of the name, their anatomy, a brief introduction to their behaviour and the danger of extinction due to human activities were similar in both articles.

    2. Where they can be found, more in-depth of their behaviour and their behaviour towards their own species were present in the second but not in the first article. Their origins from the Pleistocene period and their reduction of numbers were not present in the second article.

    3. I think that the two articles are targeted at different people. The first maybe targeted at tourists who would want only a brief introduction to the orang-utan, whereas the second was targeted at people who want to study in-depth of the orang-utan.

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  23. 1) The definition of 'orangutan', the length or an orangutan's arm, their habitat, the amount of time an orangutan spends its time in trees and how long an orangutan spends its time looking for food.
    2) I can find a little bit more details about the looks of the orangutan in the first article
    3) The first article is made just for orangutans and has a lot of descriptions whereas national geographic not only focuses on the animal, but the environment too.

    Jun Jie

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  24. This is the site where I found another article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/mar/25/conservation.theobserver
    Out of the 3 articles that I have read, I prefer the one from the zoo. It is the most detailed.

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  25. I have read another article on ( http://www.zoo.com.sg/l2_t2.aspx?l2=39&l1=5&langid=1 ) which is the Singapore Zoo and their view point on Orang-Utans. Mainly, it describes the Orang-utans more detailed like the first article, as compared to the second article. In here, they have also talked about the illegal pet trade, where they have to kill a adult Orang-utan, before u can get a baby Orang-utan.

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  26. I have read a 3rd article and find that it is most informative. But my favourite is the 1st article as the information given is short and can easily be understood. In the 3rd article, too much information was given and the reader may not be able to absorb everything.

    All comments in this post is personal.

    Link:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/apes/orangutan/

    Darius Low

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  27. 3. The first article might be because it is targeted at some people who just wish to know a bit of general knowledge about the Orang-Utan while the second article, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/orangutan/ is most likely fit for researches who wish to know more in-depth information about the Orang-Utan.

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  28. 1. Some pieces of similar information includes the term which the word 'orang-utan' comes from, the fact that orang-utans has very long arms, the long amount of time they spend in trees, their diet and the fact that logging is affecting their population.
    2. Information I can find in the first article that I cannot find in the second article includes the fact that the orang-utans originated during the Pleistocene period 2 million to 100, 000 years ago, the drastic reduction of their population compared between now and a century ago, their colour and its movement.
    3. I think that these differences between the first and the second article about orang-utans are due to the source where it comes from; the first article comes from the website of a zoo while the second article comes from the National Geographic website. A zoo is for people, specifically tourists, to go to view and observe the animals. Therefore, the information that is given for the orang-utans will include pieces such as the colour of their hair and their favourite food so that people will know what they expect to see about the orang-utan in the zoo after reading the article. However, the National Geographic website is only a source of information and facts. Therefore, only the significant key facts are given. Overall, the difference is mainly due to the different purposes of the sources.

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  29. Some of the headings that can be inserted in the article can be: Lifestyle, Habitats, Characteristics, Diets and General Information.

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  30. 1.The word orang-utan originates from the Malay words which means “person of the forest”. Orangutans have enormous arms which can grow up to 2 meters in length, which is longer than its legs. They spend most of their time in the forest canopy and spend most of their time looking for food. This includes fruits, bark, insects, and sometimes meat. They only live in a few places, with drastic changes and are now facing extinction.

    The orangutans hands nearly touch the ground when standing and they use leafy branches and large leaves for protection and shelter. They are more solitary than other apes and makes calls to ensure orangutans stay out of each other’s way. It talks about the relationship between the orangutans.

    3. The target audience for the National Geographic is for people worldwide while the article was mostly for people in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hence, National Geographic gives a more detailed and specific information and facts that are useful. On the other hand, the zoo in Honolulu studies animals and has a better understanding of the orangutans.

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  31. Another link to know the latest scientific report on orangutans is http://orangutancentre.org/category/programs/reports/
    The reason is because it is a organisation website. Information reliable :)

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  32. The headings are: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, LIFESTYLE, DIET.

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  33. Another article: http://www.whozoo.org/students/chrngu/orangs.htm

    This article was from the zoo and it is more in depth than the previous two. It is also less sophisticated as it is for students.

    I prefer the article from National Geographic as it has more general informations and National Geographic has a better reputation than the zoo.

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