Final Paper Return

Because Angel could be closed down at any time today, please post here to let me know whether you would like your Essay 5 returned.  If you request it back, it will be available in my office (K-216) any time after July 5th.

Have a great rest of the summer!

Final Exam Essay

Your final exam essay is posted to the Lessons page on Angel.  It will be available until 11:59 pm tomorrow (Wednesday).  This is a low-stakes assignment and a great way to pick up easy points if you answer the questions completely.

You'll be getting loads of paper back from me over the next three days, but since I won't "speak" with most of you directly, I want to take the chance here to let you know how much I have enjoyed you as a class.  Your discussions have been a constant source of pleasure for me, and your paper topics have been consistently interesting.  You've all made it a very pleasant term.

Best of luck in your future endeavors!

15.7

The traditional method of education has a number of problems For example, if you were to miss a class, you would thusly miss any notes given, and any/all class discussion from that day, along with what assignments were given. In additon, if the teacher does not pronunciate well or has problems speaking to the class, there is usually very little to be done about it. Making lectures available as podcasts however, allows students to not have to miss classes and be able to read everything nessecary on their own without having to try and interprate someone else's vernacular or views on the subject that may sway the discussion. There are thee reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason is that students don't have to freak out about "missing a class" because of illness or other personal reasons. Another reason is that students can read the material and come o understand it through their own unique methods as opposed to listening to it explained by someone who has already formed their own opinions of it. Finally, one can read and re-read the lecture as many times as they want as opposed to only hearing it once and taking notes. For these reasons, I believe that lectures should be recorded or pre-written and posted for the class' easier use and access.

To Him Coy Mistress

This is a beautiful poem that proposes Andrew's love for his sweet mistress. He explains his love in quite a manner.

"And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate."

This was my favorite part of the whole poem. It describes at most how he feels for her. It is very convincing with what detail he provided in his poem. If I would have wrote something like this to my fiance, I could just picture her now, tears rolling down her face as she reads on to the very end. It was very touching.

"My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow."

This was my second favorite phrase that really brought out how he truly felt about his mistress.

Hunsford proposal from "Pride and Prejudice"

I believe the reason why it failed so miserably is the way he went about telling her. Instead of expressed truly on how he felt and why he wanted her hand in marriage, he basically just told her everything that he is giving up and that it is not like him to arrange something like this. He was being to impulsive and from the sounds of it she doesn't like him already due to him bringing pain to her sister. That already put him off to a bad start. He should have started off by apologizing about her sister and explaining his love for her. No more than that. You don't try and win someone by telling them everything you are giving up for them or everything bad that is going to happen if you do it. You let them figure that out for themselves so that they would learn to appreciate what you have done for them and so that they can understand how strong your love is for them.

Discussion Responses

Hi All,

I know many of you , like me, may have been affected by intermittent power outages and patchy internet service yesterday, so I will not count any Week Six discussion responses submitted today as late.

My coy mistress

     Andrew Marvell's poem is a great love story.  He is in love with this mistress and wish to spend his dying days loving her.  He says "had we but world enough, and time', it brings e to believe he would love her for eternity.  Mr. Marvell, made reference 'Till the conversion of the  Jews' ,that he would love her until the end of time.  This statement made me believe that he was truly in love with her and he loved her beyond the grave. His proposal was convincing and heart felt.

15.7

    The traditional lecture method of education as  a number of problems. For example; there are a large number of students, intimidating, and impersonal.  In addition, if a student had to work or was ill, he or she would not have a  way of retrieving the lecture notes. Making lectures available as podcast, however, students who missed class could, listen to the notes on there computer or there mp3 player.  There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted.  One reason is that students who work could listen to notes at their leisure.  Another reason is that  it would omit some of the past failure in the lecture system.  Finally, struggling students could listen to the podcast at home and keep going over and over the notes. until they understand the lecture notes.  For these reasons, I believe that the podcast system would benefit all students who are in college  because there are many distractions that students face, and this is a good way to enhance learning.

pride and prejudice

Oh my, Mr. Dacy what an awful proposal.  Mr. Dacy had a really weird way of proposing.  He brought what his family and friends wanted him to do into his proposal  instead of what his true feelings should have been.  It appears that from the beginning she didn't like him because of what he did to someone she knew and then to propose to her was the ultimate no no.
Mr. Dacy should have said, I love you and in spite of everything I have done my heart wants you to be my bride. Then he should have said know matter what anyone thinks of our relationship, we are in this together and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.

Pride and Prejudice

I though Mr. Darcy did a fine job of proposing, I can't figure out why she said no. Just kidding. I guess the first thing I noticed that he mentioned that his family and friends and even his better judgement were telling him not to love or marry her. He pretty much tore her down with his arrogance and belittled her.

What he should have done, was leave his family and friends out of the proposal. He could have told her how great she made him feel, and he was only happy when he was in her presence. If she objected to that and brought up his family and friends he could have told her that nothing else matters to him but her. It appears that she detested him from the day they met. So he could have adjusted his behavior and courted her properly and then try to seal the deal at a later time.

Exercise 15.7

The traditional lecture method of education has a number of problems.
For example, you have to physically be there to take notes. Even if you received lecture notes from another student, it is not the same as listening to the lecture and writing down the notes in an individuals own style. In addition, it is very difficult to write down and gather every single piece of information from a live lecture. Some professors do not like to be interrupted to answer questions, so one is forced to just keep writing down as much as they can.  Making lectures available as podcasts, however will eliminate both of these problems as the student can listen and watch them as their schedule, and repeat as necessary to get all of the information from it if they missed it the first time around.
There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason will be that the student does not need to be present. Another reason is that the professor will not be interrupted with questions, the student can email the professor questions,  and the professor can answer at his or her leisure. Finally, the professor only has to do the lecture once and they can assign the student to listen to it semester after semester and not have repeat themselves over and over.
For these reasons, I believe that that making podcasts of lectures available to students benefits both the professor and student in an equal basis.

The Obvious Choice

   Anyone who has had to go to class during the day throughout the fall or spring semester has felt the frustration of not being able to find a parking space. The availability of parking has become a problem at the north west campus. The fall and spring semesters are the busiest time at Santa Fe College (SFC). Parking at SFC is insufficient to accommodate the amount of people who drive to this location. I propose that the employees that work at the north west campus be given a bonus for taking the bus to work. This would free up parking for students to park, and promote sustainability. Using public transportation by Santa Fe employees would further promote the effort to reduce the carbon footprint left by this institution. Some people might say that SFC should make the North Woods a parking lot, but that is not the solution for two reasons. It would destroy a natural habitat for the local wildlife and it wouldn't be utilized all year. Not destroying a natural habitat and promoting employees to think about the environment are two positive results of providing more parking for students. It's obvious the choice to provide more parking for students is to encourage employees to take public transportation to work.

Exercise 15.7

   The traditional lecture method of education has a number of problems. For example, if a student misses class he might be able to get notes from a classmate, but he will miss a lot from not hearing or seeing his professor talk. In addition, not utilizing technology in this day and age is a shortcoming. The technology that is available allows people to access more data. Making lectures available as pod casts, however, uses the technology that is available. There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason is that making lectures available via podcast allows students to refer back to lectures to retain information better. Another reason is that if a student cannot be present in a classroom he can still have the opportunity to learn. Finally, the transition society to becoming digital is inevitable, so supplying the demand of the desire to use electronic devices is providing a better education. For these reasons, I believe that traditional lecture methods are a thing of the past.

To His Coy Mistress

Andrew Marvell's poem titled 'To His Coy Mistress' captures his pure love and undeniable feelings for this particular lady friend of his. He is proposing the desire to share his love and life with her until their dying days. The appealing phrase "we would sit down, and think which way to walk, and pass our long love's day" makes me think of two people in love sitting on a porch on a swing holding hands professing their love to each other. The most heart string tugging phrase out of his whole poem is "for, lady, you deserve this state, or would I love at lower rate'. To me this says, I am not willing to sacrifice his love for the lady no matter what happens in life. I find his proposal quite moving and emotional therefore very convincing. The phrase "thus, though we cannot make our sun stand still, yet we will make him run" makes it sound like there is an extreme sense of urgency, like he wants to be with her before either of their lives end.

Mr. Darcy

Mr. Darcy's marriage proposal was a total failure for many reasons. The first being the most obvious, he is an arrogant man who speaks down to the very woman he supposedly loves. He states how everything in the universe and even his own judgment tell him not to love or propose to her, but that he must resist because it is the best thing for her. He acts as if he is doing her a favor by marrying her and he even states that she is below him in certain archaic language. When she tries to tell him of the reasons she doesn't trust him he appears to lash out immaturely. He might have had better luck if he had treated her with respect and shown real love for her instead of a pity proposal. He also might not want to tell people that it is against his better judgment that he loves them before asking for their hand in marriage. It kind of takes the romance out of it.

Essay 3 Posted

Mostly...

A handful of you had trouble with the inbox for this assignment, so I have posted your essays to Turnitin and am awaiting your reports.  If this is you, expect your essay very early tomorrow morning or very late tomorrow night, as I will be gone most of the day for my daughter's taekwondo tournament and I am not sure whether the venue will have wireless internet.
For the rest of you, scores are posted and papers are emailed.

Exercise 15.7

The traditional lecture method of education has a number of problems. For example, the traditional lecture method does not adjust for students who are ill, overseas, or those that prefer online classes. In addition, students who accidentally miss classes cannot ever get the full experience again without a recorded version of the lecture. Making lectures available as podcasts, however, is a modern and cost efficient way to teach more students. There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason is that in today's modern world, many people seeking education sometimes cannot attend live classes or are currently studying/working/in the military overseas. Podcasts allow every type of individual to learn. Another reason is that online classes and podcasts allow for one teacher to teach many more students. This makes the process way more efficient and the school gets more revenue from tuition from all types of students. Finally, students who accidentally miss or are sick during class, can make up the lecture on their own time and experience it fully (not just get the notes from someone else). For these reasons, I believe that these lectures should be made available as podcasts because everyone would benefit.

Oh, My #2

That was the most unbearable marriage proposal I have ever heard. Mr. Darcy, is a self-centered, arrogant, and selfish person. His arrogance and manners are much to be desired. His marriage proposal seemed more of a pity plea for the person who was asking to marry. Because of his lack of respect for her as well as other individuals, she was disgusted. The words were more for a fight than a marriage proposal, it was all about him and is feelings. This seemed to be more of a charity proposal than a heart-felt proposal. He was not convincing that he deeply wanted to marry her. Since she declined his offer of marriage, he seemed shocked that she turned him down. It is obvious that he is a rich and well to do person, and feels that he is entitled. This was a disaster from  beginning to end, and the way that he was doing her a favor because it was against his better judgement to propose to her. What a joke this guy is.

Discussion: TO HIS COY MISTRESS

In Andrew Marvell's poem, "To His Coy Mistress", Andrew pours his heart out to a young lady, confessing his love and affection for her by proposing that they should become more than just casual acquaintances. By Andrews words, "But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near;", leave me to believe that when Andrew wrote this poem, he was most intuitively much older than the young lady in question and by description of the young lady being coy, leave me to believe that he saw her as enjoying the attention of others as well as himself because of her looks and figure. Knowing this could quiet possible become a problems between them if she thought only of her beautiful appearance  for attention rather than trusting in the true love within her heart he writes, "Thy beauty shall no more be found, Nor in thy marble vault shall sound", this is a convincing piece to appeal to the Young lady's vanity and persuade her to want more out of life with him than just fleeting moments of admiration from others.

To His Coy Mistress

TO HIS COY MISTRESS by Andrew Marvell

Andrew Marvell is proposing what would be possible in terms of life, love and death. Marvell gives his opinion on love and the things that he and his mistress could have done if they had been given more time to live. He seems to be trying to make his mistress understand that the love that he has for her will last for all eternity and that she will always have his heart. Marvell uses symbolism when he states  "For, lady, you deserve this state, Nor would I love at a lower rate," to mean that his love for her will never diminish and nothing in life could ever top it. He expresses that time is coming to an end and he wants his mistress to know of his love when he uses the phrase, "But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near." And when Marvell states, "And while thy willing souls transpires," he is expressing that death has come to take him and his mistress away, and this is just the beginning of the love that they share moving on to a new life as they pass through the iron gates symbolizing life after death. Marvell' poem is very convincing because it really makes one believe that above all else he loved his COY MISTRESS from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet.

Exercise 15.7

The traditional lecture method of education has a number of problems. For example, the traditional lecture method ignores the fact that lots of people learn in various ways. In addition, the traditional approach to teaching reduces education to a transfer of information, which does not really teach it simply gives one the information and expects students to memorize the information that has been given to them. Making lectures available as pod-casts, however, will allow for those who need to listen to these pod-casts more flexibility. Pod-casts allow students to be more hands-on and allows them to be more engaged in the lecture they are accessing. There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason is that combining  technologies with traditional teaching methods will help fill the need that many students do not learn in the traditional sense. Another reason is that if students are absent from class due to factors they cannot control they will not have to miss the information that had been given during the class that they missed as they would have access to the recordings of that lecture so they can continue to be in a positive position in their studies. Finally, having access to the lectures whenever you need it to study, and having them available whenever you may want to listen to them to verify the information you are studying. For these reasons, I believe that offering the lectures as a pod-casts would allow a greater ease of access and availability, which would also give students flexibility in getting the information needed to keep students from falling behind, allowing ease and efficiency.

Discussion: Exercise 15.7

                                     Template for Writing a Proposal Argument

                                           
       The traditional lecture method of the education has a number of problems. For example, the
over-crowding of students confined to one class alone can make it difficult for each student to get individual help with their class study. In addition, the rate of students who will fail or who are unable to show up during important lecturing because of the over-crowding of classroom or job, will want make up work in order to receive a passing grade. Making lectures available as podcasts, however, will remedy the over-crowding of classrooms and help end the need for studens' absentee excuses. There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted. One reason is that it enables the students who have full or part time jobs efficient enough time to complete class work with the online availability of podcast lecturing. Another reason is that there will be no need or excuse for missed or late turn-in class work. Finally, lectures can be made available to the student to be accessed anywhere and at any time beyond the confinement of the classroom. For these reasons, I believe that podcasts to be an excellent idea for professors as well as student to be in touch with each other academically unrestrained.

  

TO HIS COY MISTRESS


Andrew Marvell written a beautiful poem that relates to his feelings love,life, and death. He talks about is love for an individual that will last forever and no one has his heart. So, the phrase "For, lady, you deserve this state, Nor would I love at a lower rate," symbolizes that his love would be highest of all and nothing less. As the time continues on the phrase " But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near," seems that time is coming fast and he wants to present is love for the coy mistress.The third and final phrase "And while thy willing souls transpires," as death is upon him and his mistress that the ending will really be the beginning of a new life when they go through the iron gates of life after death. This was a strong poem that his love will be true from now to eternity even after death.

Remaining Posting and Assignment Schedule

Hello Everyone,

We are just about at the end of our course, and I wanted to give you all a heads-up on what will happen over the last few days of this week.
While Friday is the last official "class day," and next week is finals week, we are definitely at the end game.  So here is what is coming up:

Discussion Postings:
This week has been your final discussion week.  If you wish to take the chance to write any kind of wrap-up post or final post to your classmates, this would be the time to do so.

Assignment Return:
You will be receiving your grades for Essay 3 today.
Essay 4 grades will be posted late Monday.
Essay 5 grades will be posted late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Any late grade submissions will be posted on Thursday.
My grades have to be posted on Thursday, so any revisions will need to be to me by Wednesday night.

Final Essay:
You will have one final essay which will be an online final exam.  You will type it up in a timed window in Angel.  It is a low-stakes assignment, so don't panic.  There is nothing special you will need for it.  It will be posted on Tuesday morning and will be available to you for all of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Final Grades:
Your grades will be available for review for as long as the Angel site is open, which will likely be until Thursday morning.  My grades are due in Thursday afternoon, which means you will be able to view your official grades by Friday.

week 6 DP #2

To his Coy Mistress is a beautifully written poem. The structure is very organized. The arguments are clear and broken into three sections. He first describes his growing love for the mistress. His love will go on forever and he will only love at his highest state. The second section talks about the question about the amount of time he will have to love. “But at my back I always hear

Time’s winged chariots hurrying near.”

In the third section he embraces his present love and wants to run with it. “Now therefore, while the youthful hue,

Sits on thy skin like morning dew”

“And why thy willing soul transpires,

At every pour with instant fires”

Basically his love for the mistress is the fire and at this time cannot be stopped. His desire is to face the presence of life with this powerful love.

The argument Andrew Marvell makes is very effective and conveys his feelings in a desirable way. His wording is quite sweet, and he uses metaphors to strengthen his persuasion. Overall, the poem is romantic and enticing and very convincing. You can feel his emotion radiating right out of the pages. The massage reveals the strength of love and desire.

Week 6 DP #1

Mr. Darcy prepared a marriage proposal that was highly ineffective. He did not ask for the lady’s hand in marriage from his heart. His speech also reflected his personality. The lady he proposed already had negative feelings about Mr. Darcy. She thought he was arrogant, cocky, selfish, and insensitive. Which during his proposal I felt the same way about him. First of all, he was standing up while she was sitting down and showing not a single sign of affection. He also said he that his decision to ask for marriage was against the wishes of his family, his friends and his own better judgment. The women doesn’t respond well to him. She is firm in her words also and tells him exactly how she feels about him. His proposal left her feeling humiliated and offended. Mr. Darcy should have been more sensitive to her feelings if he were to get any where close to connecting with the woman. The last thing you want to do is insult the woman you want to marry. Mr. Darcy failed because he was being entirely selfish in his proposal. He did not once consider any feelings besides his. Marriage is unity and is not functional as anything else.

Week 5 - Analyze the ad

This ad is clearly picking on one subject to focus on. The use of gasoline is killing our planet seems to be the primary point of view. Or you can look at it as not only are we killing the actual planet itself by depleting all its natural resources but what about killing the world? We are going all over the world in search of 'new' resources for our consumption and with that search in other countries we are also getting into wars over these resources. War is another form of economic stimulus and another way of killing our planet. Back to the primary view, we are actual caught in a vicious circle too. We drive our vehicles to work to make money to pay for the gas in our vehicle to drive to work. If you have a bigger family, you typically require a bigger vehicle which consumes more gas. If you have to commute to your job, that requires more gas to get there. So by needing this extra gas to live we make the sacrifice our of planet.

Hunsford Proposal - Doomed from the beginning

If Mr. Darcy has taken the manner in which he makes his exit like a true gentleman and applied that to the beginning of the proposal, he might have had a better chance of a positive outcome. Not only does it feel like he is shouting at her instead on holding a conversation with her, he stands while she sits. With Mr. Darcy standing is showing his power is dominating hers, that she is merely insignificant. I understand this is before the whole womens rights movement but if he truly wanted her hand in marriage, he would have tried all angles. Not once does he address her by name, it is if he is making a general announcement to the public. Mr. Darcy should have had some personalization with his proposal speech. On a defending note, Elizabeth, the woman Mr. Darcy is proposing to, already has a preconceived feeling about him which in the end of the clip she reveals to him. She had decided after knowing him for a month that she didn’t care for him. In other words Mr. Darcy was doomed, he was destined to get the negative response that he did.

Mr. Darcy The Ladies Man

Judging from Mr Darcy's tone and and diction alone, you can tell he is a pretty arrogance man. His marriage proposal is even portrayed that way. The reason his proposal fails is because one, he speaks to her like he is better than her. For example, he demands her to listen to him he doesn't ask "You "must" allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you". It seems as if he isn't giving her much of a choice to listen and judging from the woman you can tell she isn't very found of this type of action. Mr. Darcy makes it seem like it is wrong for him to love her which isn't the best way to ask someone's and in marriage. He blatantly tells the woman that he doesn't want to love her but it can't be suppressed. Mr. Darcy makes it seem like he is only asking her to marry her to better off himself. What he could have done was eased her into the question. He should have told her that his heart doesn't have a choice. Mr. Darcy should have better worded his argument and not make it refute its self to the point where he persuades her not to marry him.

Discussion post: Hunsford Proposal

The Hunsford Proposal failed so miserably because Mr. Darcy went about it perhaps the most ridicule-like manner I have ever seen in asking for one’s hand in marriage. He starts off with saying that he is doing this against his better judgment, his family’s wishes, and even his own character. Romantic, isn’t it? He then proceeds to talk about how her station in life is below his own and that he may even be disgusted with himself for harboring feelings for her but she should feel honored because a marriage to him would be the best thing for her.
After she refuses and he asks for her reasoning he lashes out at her explanations revealing himself to be egotistical in the process.
The more they go on the more it is revealed that throughout his past he has brought sadness to her life. First by convincing his friend to not marry her sister, a feat he is quite proud of and boasts to her so. Another is his history of dealings with Mr. Wickoms(sp?), from what I could gather the two had a business dealing that went south but Mr. Darcy came out relatively unscathed while his partner now wallows in poverty, something Mr. Darcy is not ashamed of. Lastly, his manners to her since she has known of him as been less than stellar driving her to dislike the man so much that within a month of knowing him she concluded that she would never form affectionate feelings for the man.
The only way he could of pulled off this proposal would of been to travel back in time and start over from the very beginning in a much more civilized and graceful manner.

Discussion post: Exercise 15.7

The traditional lecture method of education has a number of problems. For example, if you are absent from class for a personal reason then you miss out on the lecture that is given and all of the information that pertains to it. In addition, if the professor giving the lecture has a thick accent or one that the listener is unaccustomed to hearing they will find it harder to pick up on the key points that the professor is trying to hit on. Making lectures available as podcasts, however, will allow for the listener to engage more with the lecture using strong listening skills as well as using resources they wouldn’t be able to use in class. There are three reasons that this teaching method should be adopted.
One reason is that if a student is absent they don’t have to miss out on the information that was given during class as they would have access to a recording of the lecture to keep them from falling behind in their studies.
Another reason is that if the speaker has an accent that is difficult for some to understand the listener will be able to replay parts of the lecture to make sure they properly understood or even ask for others to listen to parts to make sure they’re hearing the same thing.
Finally, you will have a copy of the lecture to take with you wherever you go and listen to as many times as you please making studying a breeze and far more efficient.
For these reasons, I believe that lectures should be recorded and distrubuted to classes in a podcast form for ease of access, checking the accuracy of the student’s information, and for easier and more efficient studying.

Agenda Week 6

Practical Argument Readings:

• Chapter 15: “Proposal Arguments” (417-48)

Presentations:

Writing Proposal Arguments

View another webinar from Alisa Cooper

(Obviously you should ignore the last couple of slides that describe the assignment - those are not pertinent to our class.)

Resources:

(These are the same resources as last week, nevertheless, you should not hesitate to review them, as they are critical for your work on your final paper.

"Evaluating Sources" (Lakeland Community College)
Tyree Library - "Finding Articles"
Tyree Library - "Is It a Popular Magazine or a Scholarly Journal"

Discussion Questions:

• Complete exercise 15.7 on page 450 of PA and post it here.
• Read Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" on page 670 of PA.  What is Marvell proposing?  What kinds of appeals does he use to make his proposal more persuasive (give examples)?  Is his proposal convincing?  Why or why not?
• Choose one of the thesis statements from Exercise 15.1 (PA 423-24) and find one article from the library databases that you could use to support it.  Provide a link to the article here as well as an MLA citation for it.  Summarize the article and explain how you could use it to support the thesis statement.
• Using the "Structuring a Proposal Argument" on page 427 of PA, write a mini-proposal for a solution to the parking shortage on the northwest campus of Santa Fe College.
• The video below is an adaptation of the Hunsford proposal from Pride and Prejudice, one of the most famous marriage proposals in the history of English literature.  Why does it fail so miserably?  What could Mr. Darcy have done to make his point more persuasively?

Assignment:

Essay 5, due Monday, June 25 at 11:59 pm.
The assignment sheet will be posted to the Lessons page of Angel as Essay 5: Causal Argument - Research.
If you have not yet sent me your proposed topic for this essay, you need to do so as soon as possible.
Remember that your essay must be posted before midnight, or the dropbox will close.

Essay 5

Obviously I missed the "your topic must be posted to the course blog by 11:59pm on Sunday June 19th and must be approved by me" part of the paper. It took my daughter pointing it out to me for me to know it was there. I choose the topic of 'texting and driving and the consequences.'

Essay Topic

I want to make an argument on teen pregnancy and how it is viewed in this generation of teens and how it effects lives for the bad and possibly good.

Esay 5 topic

For my fifth essay topic I would like to discuss teen drinking. I think this is a topic that is truly worth discussing. So many teenagers die from accidents that happen after they have been drinking.

Essay 5 topic

I would like to write my week 5 paper on accidental gun deaths and how gun safety is not emphasized enough. My proposal would involve including a minor safety course with every gun purchased.

Essay 5 topic

I would like to write about how the media is making kids try and grow up way too fast. Considering all the "teen mom" nonsense and other such media atrocities, I figured it would be an interesting topic to write about.

Sorry this is late.  I would like to write about healthcare reform/Obamacare and how this a dilemma.
What do you think?

Essay 5 topic

I would like to argue that the oppourtunity to eat healthy food should be available to anyone. Eating healthy should not be a privelage and everyone should have equality when it comes to nourishing the human body.

Essay topic

What about dog fighting? I could write one on pit bulls and there reputation. Many people breed them to fight though they are not bad dogs. If people would stop over breeding these dogs and stop trying to make a buck on them killing each other, these dogs would not have the reputation that they have. To tell you the truth, I really can't think of anything to write about.

Essay 5 Topic

I would like to write about the extinction of dinosaurs and what led up to it. A lot of people have different theories about their extinction, although some were not proven, there are facts that do indicate that some people might be right. We may never know exactly what happened and why, I think I can produce a great paper of casual arguments about these theories and the evidence that backs them up.

I want to apologize for this being posted late. I was so busy trying to do me other work and deal with personal things that I did not realize this was due yesturday. I figured I had all week to check it out. That was my fault and I have learned my lesson about brushing things off.

Reasearch

I would like to wrte a paper on bullying.

Research Paper

I would like to research direct mail marketing.

Essay for week 5
I would like to the research on homeless children in Florida.

Economic Progress is killing the planet

What is its causal argument? The causal argument is that economic progress is killing the planet. One that we deal with locally is our water is polluted.  What does it identify as main causes? The main cause that ad identifies is fuel. The could mean a couple of things. One being the pollution caused by the fuel being burned in engines, and another cause could be the damage caused to the environment by the companies that drill for oil. A good example is the BP oil spill that happened close to us in the Gulf of Mexico. I think the gun pointing at the map is symbolizing suicide as that is a willful decision to do something, and ignoring our planet is willfully killing it.

Essay 5 Topic

Fast food is making Americans fat.

Facebook

What steps would you take to determine whether Elefant's information is accurate? I would possibly interview a few employers to see if they are using Facebook to screen employees.

How could you determine whether Elefant is respected in her field? I would probably check her Facebook profile, just kidding. I would Google her name to see what else see has written. I may even call on others in her field to see if she is legitiment.

Is Elefant's blog written for an audience that is knowledgeable about her subjects? I would say yes. The website she blogged on is a Legal Blow Watch Web Site. That is directed towards people in the legal profession.

Do you think this blog post is a suitable research source? No, she needs to cite employers comments and not just attorneys.

What insights about this blog post do the comments that accompany it give you? The people that commented seemed to have some knowledge on the subject.

Casual Media.

"Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up too fast."  Create a causal chain that either supports or refutes this statement. 


The contemporary media of today is not encouraging all children to grow up fast, it is targeted towards girls. Fashion has "opened" up in all kind of ways for woman if the past few decades everything is becoming more towards sex appeal. Everything has become shorter and tighter, even for guys. Younger girls see this on every piece of media they can get their hands on from television to magazines. The main problem with contemporary media and girls is that girls have a bigger need to conform then boys. Media hits this well even shows on The Disney channel have more sex appeal, and every girl wants to be like their "idols". 

ESSAY 5

Essay 5-Causal Argument/Proposal Research Essay

I would like to propose the topic of Teenage Pregnancy to write my week 5 essay on. Because of my close relationship with two teenagers; one who is at this moment pregnant, with no knowledge of who the father is," my niece"; the other a really sweet teenager," to whom is the best friend of my son", is the father of beautiful baby girl.
I am extremely interested in this topic, not only because I am close to these two teenagers, that are going through a decision that will now have an impact on their lives, "for the rest of their lives", but I would also like to try and persuade other teenagers from committing acts of immature fornication before they have achieved the means necessary for adult decisions.

Casual Argument

   The casual argument in this ad presents the idea that consumers are using a lot of fossil fuels and by doing so individuals are collectively killing the planet. The bigger cars and trucks are driven, so more gasoline is used to operate them. Petroleum, which is used to create gasoline, has to be harvested from the earth. The more humans take from the earth the faster our resources will be depleted. Once the resources are gone, the planet will die. The gun is used in the poster to represent the consumption of natural resources. The target lies on the earth, and using up the fossil fuels would be like pulling the trigger on the gun. This casual argument doesn't doesn't identify any contributory causes. The ad is focused on one cause and effect. By leaving out any possible contributory causes the argument to be not as persuasive as it could be. People might agree with economic progress killing the planet, but not with the use of gasoline.

Contemporary Media

christina vinsonchidren
June 15, 2012

Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up to fast. The media today is stressing the point of sex, violence, and drugs.  Many of the television programs that our children watch is  influence them to be rebel against their families. Parents need to monitor the programs that the children watch. Because many shows teach that it's ok to lie cheat and steal, it makes our children feel  it's okay to do that.

Casual Arguments

Christina Vinson

What is casual arguments? Casual argument identifies the cause of an event or situation and takes a stand on what actually caused it.  Casual arguments may focus on the results or take a position on the outcome.

What does it identify as the main cause? It examine a number of diffrent possible causes before concluding that particular cause would possible be.

Does it identify contributory causes? It may make a possible cause or a result of what may possible be.

“Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up to fast”

Contemporary media seems to encourage children to grow up to fast. If you look at contemporary media there are many things there that encourage children to grow up to fast. Everything children see today in movies, magazines and hear on the television. When children are allowed to view what ever they want whenever they want the take on the views of the things that they hear and see on television. Many of these television shows seem to encourage children to do things that they may not be ready for. Parents should be aware of what their children are watching as well as how their children view the things they see a well as whether or not their children agree with what they see on television. Although there may not be anything we can do to stop them from being exposed to contemporary media we can monitor the things that our children view and give explanations of how things really work in society and how our children should react in some of these situations. There are many things that children deem as okay for them to do because of how media portrays it that they do not realize the consequences of what can happen if they take part in these actions. Like the belief that being thin is the only thing that makes you beautiful so young girls have taken to watching what they eat and not eating healthy, as well as viewing themselves as ugly just because they are not as thin as others around them.

Facebook

What steps would you take to determine whether Elefant's information is accurate?

In order to determine if Elefant's information is accurate one should read more into the subject in which is being discussed . One should always look to see how other people's opinions on Elefant's information. People should also look for more information regarding Elefant's research, what particular works were cited in her argument and also look for an argument that may refute Elefant's opinion.

How could you determine whether Elefant is respected in her field?

If one is to determine if Elefant is respected in her field of study one would have to look for other articles that Elefant may have written and see if she takes a negative approach to all of her blogs or papers. You can usually tell how respected someone is by the tone in there essays as well as how well others react to her papers and blogs. Although I am not very sure of her abilities she seems to be well respected by many of her peers.

Is Elefant's blog written for an audience that is knowledgeable about her subjects? How can you tell?

Elefant's blog was definitely written for those who have little or no knowledge of her subjects. This is evident because she states all of her opinions or facts with evidence to support each of her claims, and she also gives basic information on her subjects for those who may not know what her research entails.

Do you think this blog is suitable research source? Why or why not?

This blog is not suitable as a research source because Elefant uses too many of her own opinions about this subject. If Elefant wanted this blog to be a suitable research source then she should have stated more fact than her own opinion. One may be able to cite a particular quote from her blog but nothing more than that.

What insights about this blog do the comments that accompany it give you?

The comments that accompany this blog give the insight that all of her readers seem to agree with Elefant. It is a blog written for people with the same type of opinions as the writer. The all seem to support her evidence, information, and claims. Which is particularly unusually.

Contemporary media is causing children to grow up fast. Children are stuck in world of electronics and have been blindsided by the glamour. Children are influenced by individuals whether it is parents, TV, and video games. Because of today's society, children are being raised by electronic or TV shows. The lost of family values and positive role models has children growing up faster. The children want to be that person ICarly, Hannah Montana, and other TV icons. Their lives look glamorous and doing inappropriate behavior without any consequences and children are learning and watching thinking that it is ok behavior. However, as parents we need to be more involved with the supervision of TV and gaming making sure that it is appropriate. Because children do what they learn or watch, it is our responsibility to insure that we are teaching family values.What ever happened to family night with board games with no distractions?

Discussion # 1         Visual Ad

Is the Economic progress killing our planet. This is a casual argument that we may be destroying the planet earth. As we carry on day by day using natural resources for daily needs, for example; person pumping gas using crude oil resources and car polluting the earth. The strong statement made with the gun pointing at the earth resembling that everyday we are destroying the planet. The use of natural resources and how they are obtained is slowly killing the planet. The population grows and the need for more natural resources causes the slow death to the planet Earth. Because we think that we are making great progress in the economic, we are not concerned about the slow death that the planet Earth is undergoing. So, are we doing any justice? Are we really making progress or destroying our planet Earth? If we continue on the same path, it is possible that the Earth will die.

CAUSAL CHAIN

 Discussion Week 5:  “Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up to fast”

                                                            CAUSAL CHAIN

  What our children view on TV, without parental supervision, can affect the way they view the world, of what is accepted and what is not. The way in which the media display each broadcast, from commercials to the some-what innocent TV shows that we as adult think nothing of, are having a profound effect on our children’s out-look of what it is to be an “adult” without the intervention of an adult to explain the ramifications of these actions viewed, children are more or less likely to develop the wrong attitude toward life and may also develop habits that are unbecoming of the innocent of childhood.

  Many, influential concerns in the media, that parents should concern their selves in, are the way in which they are presented and ways in which the child interpret that presentation. Some examples are; a child viewing a weight lose ad, sees and hears how wonderful it is to be thin, as the male or female representative of the weight lose ad is adored by men  or females with complements of admiration. To a child, to be thin is to belong; a commercial on makeup that shows how a plain female representative can transform into a beauty within a matter of seconds. What a child see, is the wearing of makeup will give them a higher social standing among their peers; TV Shows that broadcast the acceptance of teenage parenthood, tells a child that it is OK for a teenager to have sex and that birthing a child is what to be expected while young.

   There isn’t much we can do to keep our children from being exposed to the media but with monitoring what our children view and by explanation of what they have viewed can help our children grow up at the pace in which they were meant to grow up. The causal chain to be aware of for your children are.

·         The need to lose weight.

·         Is to become social accepted among peers.

·         The wearing of makeup.

·         Is to become as an adult figure among peers.

·         Exercising sexual awareness.

·         Is to take on the responsibilities of being an adult.

It is not easy being an adult. To let our children miss out on enjoying their childhood will reflect on we the parent. As parents, it is our duty to protect our children, from the “Media” and from themselves, when it comes to interpreting the media from a child point of view.

Facebook Background Checks

What steps would you take to determine whether Elefant's information is accurate?

   In order to determine if Elefant's information is accurate I would read more into the subject at hand. I would first look at other's opinions on Elefant's information. I would also look for more information regarding Elefant's research and even look for an argument that would refute Elefant's.

How could you determine whether Elefant is respected in her field?

To determine if Elefant is respected in her field of study I would have to look for other articles that Elefant may have written and see if she has a negative approach to them. You can tell usually tell how respected someone is by the tone in there essays. She seems to be well respected by some of her peers.

Is Elefant's blog written for an audience that is knowledgeable about her subjects? How can you tell?

Elefant's blog seems to be written for those who have little to no knowledge of her subjects. She states all of her opinions/facts with evidence to support her claims, and gives basic information of her subject for those who may not know what she is talking about.

Do you think this blog is suitable research source? Why or why not?

I believe that this blog is not suitable for research source because Elefant uses to much of her bias in her sunject. One may be able to site a quote from her but nothing more then that.

What insights about this blog do the comments that accompany it give you?

The comments that accompany this blog give me insight that they agree with Elefant. It is a blog written for people with the same "bias" that she has and they all support her evidence, information, and claims.

Class Discussions

I just want to thank you all again for your hard work on your discussion posts.  I just finished going through Week 3, and I am again struck by how enjoyable your discussions are and how many interesting things you all have to say.

Thanks for making this part of my job so easy!

DP #2 week 5

Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up to fast. This is a statement that might cause some emotion because this is what people are raising their children on. Not only is today’s media filled with inappropriate content. Today’s world is also lacking guidance and positive interacting that children need. Values have been lost and now we are facing seven year olds being sentenced to prison. Not only are our children dealing with dysfunctional families but they are also surrounded by dysfunction in the world. Children are learning more about hate than they are about loving one another. Contemporary media is also focuses on video games, smart devices such as I pads. They are learning how to surf the internet that is filled with crude comedy, pornography, violent media, and so much more information that should be kept away from a child’s mind. Instead children should be creating their own world, they should be outside exploring the beauty of nature. Children should be highly active because they are filled with energy. Today’s world does not emphasize enough the importance of making a childhood last. As a child you have a perspective that is unfamiliar to all things. All encounters should be something that makes a difference. Children need to be encouraged, inspired and taught, not just entertained.

Discussion post #1 week 5

So, what is the big question all about? Is economic progress killing the planet? The image’s casual argument is that modern development and the steps we’ve made to get so inclined is causing our planet to die. In the image you see a human hand holding a gun and it is pointed at a target which happens to be a map of Earth. The hand holding the gun is also placed in between the words killing and planet. This is emphasizing that the world has no defense against the damage we are doing to it. You also see another hand holding a gas pump and is filling up their vehicle. Oil is a natural non renewable resource (at least in our lifetime). What are we going to do when we cannot get more oil? Both of these examples pertain to the casual argument of the entire image. The progress we have made has certainly served it’s duty by producing billions of products in a short amount of time. It has also been evil to our Earth by stealing and not replacing. If the world continues be in doubt about alternative sources for sustainable living here, then something will eventually take over. The image asking to think about the ways we have succeeded, and then to question whether or not it might have been cheating.

Casual Chain

   Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up too fast. The moral decay of society has lead to the depravity of mankind. The images and messages that are conveyed through media reflects the thoughts and feelings of our culture. As humanity continues down a path of corruption less censorship is the trend to supply the demand of humans turpitude. The world's children suffer from the desensitization that contemporary media is conveying. Thus continuing the vicious cycle of the exponentially increasing decline of the values of the human race. Through this downward spiral, technology still continues to progress with different ways to present media. New technology caters to the demand of the people. As more and more electronic devices can deliver the information in a small convenient way, children are drawn to these electronic devices that have the capability of researching more data than children should know until they get older. Desensitization has become a problem with our society. Children lack a sense of empathy because of seeing so many horrible things through contemporary media. 

Discussion post: Wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus

I am a bit of an expert in Greek Mythology, as I have researched (and continue to research) the subject in depth. I do so because I find it very intriguing, and one of my favorite figures/stories from Greek Mythology is the story of the "kindly" Titan, Prometheus.

Wikipedia has a page on Prometheus to no great surprise, but it leaves a bit to be desired in the category of details. They simply include that Prometheus created man from clay, gave them fire he had stolen from Mount Olympus (from the Olympian gods), and was punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock with an eagle coming and tearing out/eating his liver every day. However, if proper details (according to the ancient Greek myths) are included, that is only some of the highlights of the story.

According to the Greek legends, during the "Titanomachy", or the Olympian god vs Titan war, Prometheus (also called the Titan of Forsight and the wisest of the Titans) chose to fight alongside the god Zeus and his siblings rather than fight with his fellow Titans, as he could forsee the outcome of the battle with the king of the Titans, Kronos' (also spelled Cronus) defeat. Prometheus also convinced his younger brother Epithemus (whose name means afterthought and was the most dim-witted of the Titans) to side with him and the gods. As many can guess, the Olympians won and the "Golden Age of the Titans" ended with the defeat and imprisonment in Tartarus of most of the Titans including Kronos.

Afterward, the Olympian gods ruled over the earth with Zeus as their king. During this time, Prometheus and his brother were charged with creating subjects for the gods; mortals to rule over. Wikipedia does indeed include this, but they leave out the fact that there was a caring for them from the Titan brothers. They created the mortals by fashioning man out of clay and having life breathed into them by Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Prometheus cared deeply about his creations and was saddened by the fact that they were miserable on earth, with no means of effective hunting, seeing in the dark, or dealing with disease.

So, to help them, he stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to mankind, as Wikipedia does mention. Zeus, upoun seeing this, was angered and took the fire away from mankind, saying that they "were not ready" for it's power. He then forbade Prometheus from attempting to do so again. Prometheus again watched his children suffer and die, so he snuck back to Olympus in the dead of night and took fire from the chariot of Helios (the sun god) in a giant fennel-stalk and gave it back to mankind. Wikipedia also mentions Prometheus stelaing it back, and the use of the fennel-stalk, but not that the fire was from the sun and thusly would continue to burn, thus preventing Zeus from taking it away again.

Zeus saw this and was angered. He decided to destroy mankind, but Prometheus intervened. Wikipedia and other sources agree that Prometheus convinced Zeus that he should let mankind live if they offered the gods sacrifices. Zeus agreed and told Prometheus to prepare the sacrifice. Prometheus then slaughtered a great ox and, splitting it's remains in two, placed the halves on two seperate altars. One altar had the bones of the ox with it's glistening fat covering them. The other had all of the good meat, hidden under/within the ox's smelly stomach.

When Zeus appeard to see his offering, Prometheus offered him his pick of the two. What Wikipedia leaves out here is that Zeus was tricked. He only saw the disgusting stomach and the glistening white fat. So he chose the latter, thinking it amusing that Prometheus "left out" the meat mankind ate to survive. But when Prometheus releaved that Zeus had taken only the bones and fat, leaving mankind the good meat, Zeus was furious.

What Wikipedia leaves out of Zeus' wrath is that he first punished Prometheus by having Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths and fire, chain Prometheus to a great rock where he would spend eternity until the earth ended and all of the earth crumbled into Tartarus. And, seeing as Prometheus was immortal, Zeus then decried that when the world had ended and been reborn, Prometheus was to be (as Wikipedia does mention) chained back to the rock. Zeus then ordered Hephaestus to make a great eagle of bronze to come to the rock every day and eat the poor Titan's liver knowing that, since Prometheus was immortal, it would grow back every night so that the bird could return again every day.

Eventually, as Wikipedia and the legends all agree, the Greek hero Heracles (Hercules in the Roman translation) came to Prometheus and, seeing the punishment the Titan bore, felt it was unjust and freed the Titan, killing the bird and breaking the chains with his added immense strength.

Over all, Wikipedia did an alright job of re-telling the ancient story, but it could certainly have used more detail. This more-filled account here even leaves out Prometheus' knowledge of a prophecy he kept from Zeus and the story of Pandora, the first woman with her dowry jar (or box) of miseries and demons.

Discussion Week 5

              DO EMPLOYERS USING FACEBOOK FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS FACE LEGAL RISKS       

                                                                                                                                By Carolyn Elefant

Q1. What steps would you take to determine whether Elefant’s information is accurate?

The first steps, in which I would take in order to determine whether Carolyn Elefant’s information was accurate, would be to do a follow up on her information with a research of my own. This would include researching the sites in which Elefant had listed in her blog as supportive references to her claim, than comparing them to my own findings and evaluate each fact stated, to the information in which I find.

Q2.How could you determine whether Elefant is respected in her field?

The way, in which I determined that Elefant was respected in her field, was by interpretation of her earnestness in the way she openly considered the prying of employers into their employee’s social networking profile to be one of interest, as long as the employer make his intent known to the applicant during the interview process and that this intent would be in no way a determining factor into the applicants decision for employment.  

Q3. Is Elefant’s blog written for an audience that is knowledgeable about her subjects? How can you tell?

Elefant’s blog was written for an audience that has little to no knowledge about her subjects to which is acknowledged in the way Elefant blog was written in an informative manner, giving to the reader information to question and facts to research in order to better equip their understanding of employer/employee relationship.

Q4. Do you think this blog post is a suitable research source? Why or why not?

I think this blog posted by Elefant does indeed make a suitable source for research, not only is the blog filled with important and informative information, Elefant’s point of delivery is very persuasive at gaining the interest of the reader to seek further knowledge on the subject.

Q5. What insights about this blog post do the comments that accompany it give you?

The insight I get from the accompanying comments posted in response to Elefant’s blog, is that some of the viewers had knowledge of Elefant’s subject and was willing to share that knowledge in support of Elefant’s blog by strengthening her research through research of their own along with their understanding of the social networking of Facebook in concern to employer/employee relationship.

     

Analyze the ad

With global warming starting to set in more and more, the only thing we can blame is our government and ourselves. With the government building and destroying our land and nature, it is causing a lot of problems for our planet. We were expected to not live past this year due to everything that we have done to pollute the earth. The more buildings that are built, the less land we have for our nature resources to come from and we are surely running out. Since they are desperate for a quick buck, everything is being made cheaply whether or not it harms the planet. As long as they get paid, they don't care. Oil spills, gas leaks, cars letting out fumes and smoke, trash building up on roads and things that are made that are not easily broken down to get rid of. Trash companies burning trash and polluting our air with the ungodly smell or trash and smoke. Chemical being made that kills the very things that make our world go round. Last I heard, the atmosphere is getting quite thin and will soon sprout a hole which will slowly kill everything we don't appreciate at this point in time till it is gone. This ad say a lot just by a couple of words and a few pictures. It truly means a lot to the people willing to understand it and possibly do something about it. Soon we will all die and this ad will be an "I told you so" memorable statement.

Do employers using facebook for background checks face legal risk?

1. What steps would you take to determine whether Elefant's information is accurate?

Well just by reading it you can tell that she has a survey that was conducted which helps with an explanation. If you know facebook then you should know how it runs. There are also comments posted by people who included their thoughts on it and they are all agreeing with her.

2. How could you determine whether Elefant is respected in her field?

By reading the comments. A lot of good things about her and everyone agrees with her speech.

3. Is Elefant's blog written for an audience that is knowledgeable about her subjects? How can you tell?

Yes. I can tell by the way it is written. She explains her theory as if she is speaking to a crowd of people who have profiles on facebook. She expects that her readers have a profile or else they wouldn't be reading her blog. If they don't then it is quite easy to find out more about facebook just by going on there and looking up a random person.

4. Do you think this blog post is a suitable research source? Why or why not?

Depending on what exactly you are researching, yes. It has fact as well as opinions and I believe when you research something that pertains to someones life, (Getting a job in this case), then you need the opinion of people who have or are going through the experience in order to get a better understanding of what is going on. You can't determine everything in life by research only, you need the opinion of the victims whether it's good or bad.

5. What insights about this blog post do the comments that accompany it give you?

That the author is well liked and respected. A lot of people seem to agree with her ad thank her for posting it. They also add their opinion which help in the researching part.

Discussion post: Wiki page

Wikipedia pages have a habit of being misleading or having bits of information that is untrue, that is why it is always important to check the reference section of each page. Although, it seems that if it is a high profile page, such as a professional sports team, the errors are kept to a minimum or having no errors at all. One page like that is the Tampa Bay Lightning page.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are an NHL team out of Tampa, FL. Their wiki page is spot on accurate from the provided franchise history, color commentators, franchise records, and to the current roster.
Being a rather obsessive fan of the team myself I have gone over the history of the team multiple times and it is safe to say that all of it is here. They detail the team’s formation accurately and continue that accuracy all the way up to the present day in the history section.
The miscellaneous information, such as the commentators, stations games are carried on, mascot name, etc are also very accurate.
The provided roster is up to date as well as the list of former captains, record holders, award recipients, first round draft picks, and individual franchise leaders.
They even have an accurate list of all the NHL awards the team has won as well as the individual NHL awards individual players have won during their tenure with the team.
The entire wiki page for the Tampa Bay Lightning is incredibly accurate and there isn’t an error to be found in the entire entry.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Lightning

Discussion Post: Analyze the Ad

The argument the ad is proposing is that economic progress may be harming or killing the planet. There is some basis to the argument as the more advanced civilization becomes and the larger the population becomes it will need access to a larger quantity of scarce resources.
The main one it hints at in the ad is oil. The picture of someone filling their car up at the gas pump makes people think about oil and how it is indeed a scarce resource. It can be replenished but scientists aren’t fully sure on how long it actually takes for natural crude oil to form in the Earth’s crust.
Another image that is shown in the ad is one of a handgun. It is mainly used to symbolize the killing of the Earth as it’s pointed at a map but it also subtly refers to heavy metals. Guns are made up of various combinations of heavy metals such as aluminum, steel, and iron. These are all resources that are found naturally on Earth, but much like crude oil, it takes an indeterminable amount of time for them to actually form naturally. Other things that are made with these materials are cars, buildings, phones, computers and certain kinds of appliances. The larger the planet’s population becomes the more the demand for these resources will rise meaning the scarcer they will become. The scarcer the resources become the more mining companies will dig or mine to find them causing more damage to the planet as a whole.

Agenda Week 5

Practical Argument Readings:

• Chapter 8: “Evaluating Sources” (219-247)
• Chapter 13: "Causal Argument" (353-383)

Presentations:

• "Introduction to Causal Argument" (University of Louisville)
• Tyree Library - "Accessing Library Databases from Off Campus"

Resources:

"Evaluating Sources" (Lakeland Community College)
Tyree Library - "Finding Articles"
Tyree Library - "Is It a Popular Magazine or a Scholarly Journal"

Discussion Questions:

• Post links here to two sources about the same subject - one bad, one good.  Use the accuracy, credibility, objectivity, currency and comprehensiveness criteria to explain how you evaluated each source.
• As you probably know, most instructors (including me) discourage students from using Wikipedia as a source of information.  (Though I should note that the links in the footnote and resource sections at the bottom of the page are usually great sources of information.)  Read "The Top Ten Hoaxes in Wikipedia's First Ten Years" and then set out to find a Wikipedia page on a subject you know a lot about.  Post a link to the page here and assess the page's accuracy.
• Read "Do Employers Using Facebook for Background Checks Face Legal Risk" (PA 244-46).  Answer the five discussion questions that accompany the reading.
• Analyze the ad at the end of this section.  What is its causal argument?  What does it identify as main causes?  Does it identify contributory causes?
• "Contemporary media is encouraging children to grow up too fast."  Create a causal chain that either supports or refutes this statement.

Assignment:

Essay 5, due Monday, June 25 at 11:59 pm.
The assignment sheet will be posted to the Lessons page of Angel as Essay 5: Causal Argument - Research.

Remember that your essay must be posted before midnight, or the dropbox will close.

Essay 4

Hi All,

I hit a couple of major roadblocks this weekend and, as a result, probably will only have about half of the essays returned tonight and the remainder tomorrow.  As a result, I would like to give you one more day to finish your essay.  That means the essays won't be due until tomorrow - Tuesday - at 11:59 pm.  You may, of course, post them earlier, but that is now your deadline.

Courage

The caption for this picture reads "standing up to the school bully". I think standing up to the bully is the most courageous thing of all. I believe it requires far more courage than the firefighters in the picture from the book (because they are doing the job they chose) and far more courage than a penguin jumping into water, although I really like the caption below that photo. Standing up to a bully requires making a conscience effort to convince yourself that you are not going to take it anymore. Not only is one's own mind an enemy because of self-doubt one creates, but there is always the fear of standing up to a bully and the fear of a physical confrontation. A kid didn't choose to be picked on and making that decision to not take any more crap is the most courageous things that probably doesn't happen nearly as much as it should.

I'll Fly Away

I'll Fly Away is a song performed by The Kossoy Sisters. It is an old timey melody that shall be considered belonging to the folk music genre.  Not everyone would agree, however. some people would say that this song would be considered gospel music, and even though it may have originally be written for christian gatherings, the song has been transformed into a folk song. Others would say that this is a bluegrass song. Although the song could fall into both of those genres it is clear that since this song was written to put smiles on peoples faces.

Wife Beater

This essay's thesis is reflecting about the name used for the tank top undershirt which is wife-beater. According to Smith, the three problems associated with using the term wife-beater are: the term wife-beater is a man that physically abuses his wife, a fashion statement that the return to male dominance where physical abuse is acceptable as a means of control, and the youth today would rather ignore the overtones of the term wife-beater. Smith includes the definition of wife beater to use credibility to the argument. The only argument that she uses to refute her essay is that the term was created by pop culture in the 90's.The name in itself is what it is and I believe that the name was created from the stereotypical man that beats his wife.

DQ No.2: Wife-beater.

1. In your own words, summarize this essay's thesis.

In this essay, Gayle Rosenwald talks about how odd the term “Wife-Beater” is when it refers to an undershirt. It also talks about how everyone uses the undershirt and even top fashion designers have turned such a simple piece of clothing into a must-have piece that can be adorned with jewels, jackets, or a pricey suit, yet they fail to realize the undershirt has a really bad-sounding and stereotypical name.

2. According to Smith, what three problems are associated with defining the term wife-beater.

The main problem is that it appears to be cool to say the name wife-beater without fear of or without caring about hurting anyone who's probably been abused by their spouse. Another problem associated with the term is that is fueled by stereotype that physically abusive husbands wear that particular type of shirt. The third issue is that this term teaches the wrong thing about men since many woman stated the undershirt made guys look “manly.” Such statement leads people or Smith herself to question if manly equals violent.

3. Why does Smith include dictionary definitions of wife-beater? How is her definition different from these dictionary definitions?

Smith includes the dictionary definitions of wife-beater to explain the meaning and concept of the term and to show how the name of this clothing item is fueled by stereotype and how it is academically established.

4. Where does Smith introduce possible objections to her definition of wife-beater? Does she refute them convincingly?

Smith introduces objections to her definition of wife-beater in the first two paragraphs of the essay, stating that fashion designers have made this piece of clothing into a must-have item that can be accessorized, how popular celebrities wore the undergarment, and how women adopted the shirt with great pleasure. Smith refutes the objections by showing statistics about women that are victims of abuse by their boyfriends and husbands and how violence affects the families in the United States. She also talks about the term feeding its stereotypical concept of men being abusive and violent.