Mine and Hers

When looking back at Beatty’s argument, I used a different type of signal phrase. I mainly said “according to” and Beatty used the signal phrase “in the words of.” Beatty didn’t use that many different quotations, she mainly paraphrased, while I did both equally as much. Instead of making it more of my own opinion, I decided to write in my usual way of writing by taking a straightforward analytical approach, making my signal phrases neutral.

Summary of "What Makes a Serial Killer"

In the essay, “What Makes a Serial Killer” by La Donna Beaty, she discusses the many different theories surrounding what may possibly cause the transformation from a nice, young adult to a crazy, psychopathic, serial killer. She explains the different theories including some information from sources to back the theories she explains.

The first few theories are focused on society’s cultural norms and the home situation concluding, killers are formed from abusive and violent-loving families. One theory states that our violent culture is producing murderers, and televisions shows are putting a good amount of that into our lives (Beatty 2). Television shows are rank with violence and are only making viewers numb to death and destruction. When concentrating on the home life, according to Beatty, “another theory concentrates on the family atmosphere into which the serial killer is born” (Beatty 3). Children who don’t have the chance to have proper relationships with their parents or are seemingly not loved are quite more likely to be a serial killer than a child who is nurtured and loved an appropriate amount (Beatty 3).

While some believe that serial killers are morphed from an abusive, violent-loving family, still others, based on the same studies, think killers derive from a completely different type of family: the child is rejected, but only after being a threatening child taking rebellion to ultimate extremes (Beatty 3). This study also tries to dispute the claim that media has something to do with influencing and morphing a serial killer. Beatty backs this by saying, “since most children view similar amounts of violence, the argument goes, a responsible child filters what he sees and will not resort to criminal activity no matter how acceptable it seems to be” (Beatty 4).

Some believe that the amount of serial killings is directly linked to the downfall in the mental healthcare system (Beatty 4). Beatty goes on to say that our system is lacking still, even though it needed much reform in the first place because it is nearly impossible to hospitalize the mentally ill against their will (Beatty 4). According to Beatty, “even if a patient is thought to be dangerous, he or she cannot be held longer than ninety days unless it can be proved that the patient actually committed dangerous acts while in the hospital” (Beatty 5). That means that if a person is on their best behavior for ninety days, after their time is up, they can go on a killing spree if they wanted to.

Beatty continues her essay by touching on the fact that “studies have given increasing consideration to the genetic makeup of serial killers” (Beatty 5) suggesting that serial killers may also have certain abnormalities in their brain functions that can be traced to the acts of killing. However, Beatty concludes her essay by emphasizing a common trait researchers see in serial killers: “the heavy use of alcohol” (Beatty 6). She states, “while alcohol was once thought o alleviate anxiety and depression, we now know that it can aggravate and intensify such moods, which may lead to irrational feelings of powerlessness that are brought under control only when the killer proves he has the ultimate power to control life and death” ( Beatty 7).

Yet three more Posts

"Vaccines Not Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Risk." Nation's Health May 2003: 21. Academic Search Premiere. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 4 Nov. 2007 .
According to this article, there is no link between vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome. Although the time of SIDS and the time of vaccines coincide, there is no evidence point to the fact that they are linked to one another. Children are scheduled to get seven vaccines before their first birthday and this topic is a very controversial one, that some believe should have more time spent on it.

Seppa, Nathan. "Fueling the Flu Debate." Science News 6 Oct. 2007: 213. Academic Search Premiere. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 4 Nov. 2007 .
This article discusses a study that shows elderly adults who receive the flu vaccination are less likely to end up in the hospital during flu season than those who don’t get the vaccination. They compared the number of hospital visits in the summer to those in the winter and researchers can’t help but think that the shots have to be doing something. Some researchers say that this study is one of the most comprehensive study they have ever seen.

"Target Better Health." Prevention Oct. 2007: 58-64. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 4 Nov. 2007 .
This article focuses on adults and the vaccines that should probably consider getting. It discusses the vaccine to get and the disease it will be preventing. It gives an example of an adult who didn’t get vaccinations and ended up with a deadly disease that could have been prevented by a simple shot.

Hate speeches

I very much so agree with Dershowitz’s point about censorship and how we should take a hate speech and criticize it, but not censor it. There isn’t any difference with this view and with the view I took last week. I mean, the constitution says that we can’t censor them. Of course, with these hate speeches, as a society, it is easy to see their ignorance when you here this type of speech, but just because it is offensive does not give anyone the right to censor it.

My argument

Claim: The federal government should mandate all vaccines that are FDA approved
Qualifier: The mandate would not be required for those who practice a religion that is against it.
Good Reasons: Vaccines have reduced the number of cases for deadly diseases by huge numbers. Vaccines have even demolished some diseases altogether. Life expectancy has increased due to the reduction of horrible diseases
Warrants: The health of the American people should be a national priority.
Backing: American adults want to stay healthy to see their children grow to be healthy and live long, happy lives (emotional appeal). As a country that has dedicated so much time and money to prevent disease, it only makes sense to take advantage of the vaccines (ethical appeal).
Evidence: The country is spending more money on treating diseases then on vaccinations (fact as evidence).
Studies show that autism and vaccines were not linked, plus the preservative was taken out anyway (logical appeal as evidence)
Successfully mandating all the vaccines approved would require a renewed trust in the health system and take a collective effort from the people financially and scientifically (logical appeal as evidence)
Most children only benefit from getting vaccines as small children (emotional appeal).
Authority: The FDA
Conditions of Rebuttal: Decisions to get vaccines should be left up to the decisions of the parents or the recipient. Vaccines do more harm than good
Response: If there is a religious conflict, then the mandate will not apply. Vaccines have been proven to work, or they wouldn’t be allowed to be released by the government. As soon as something is seen to even possibly be harmful it is taken off the market. Many different studies don’t link vaccines to autism and other diseases. All medical advancements like the vaccine are not perfect and will have some adverse effects.

I think I have a pretty good set up for my paper. I don’t want to spend a ton of space on the rebuttal, because I don’t want to seem too defensive, however, I want to be able to defend my claim. I think I should work on my warranty a little bit more and definitely spend some more time formulating evidence for my warrant. I really need to just sit down and go over all of my sources and pick out all the things that will help me to give evidence for my claim and warrant.

GE: "Green" Imagination at Work.

Claims: GE cares about the environment when making new products
Reasons: so everyone should buy GE products
Warrant: It is important to take care of the environment so future generations have resources.
Backing: Americans want their children to live comfortably in the world without a lot of worries for their own children (emotional appeal). Our environment is crawling with natural resources, including many elements, that help us to live and we should be talking care of it in order to continue to live (logical appeal). Our environment was “given” to us in a way and we should be taking care of it, especially since it is rightfully ours to destroy (ethical appeal).
Evidence: The Evolution is the cleanest GE locomotive ever made.

That is what I found when looking at an advertisement of GE about their recent locomotive “upgrade.” I didn’t see any qualifiers in the argument, so if there are any, I must have missed them.

Image one: http://www.hhs.gov/

Image two: http://www.octagon-services.co.uk/

Image three: http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/

I decided to go with three graphs this week, because statistical evidence is usually pretty convincing! All three of these graphs show thebenefits of vaccines including tetanus and polio graphs that show the number of cases decrease as the vaccine is introduced and used. The other graph shows the monetary benefits of vaccines compared to diseases. All three will benefit my argument.

Argument of Goodwin's Plagiarism

I think Noah putting those links into his article only help with the understanding of the point he is trying to convey. When I clicked on a link, it led me to a site that had just been referred to in the article. It helped me to go a little further into the paragraph just discussed, which helped me not only to understand better what Noah was talking about, but it also gave me another little outside quip about the article at hand. That helped to make it more believable and credible. If I had an argument published on the internet, I would mostly likely use the resources at hand and use links to better my argument. The only problem with links is, if something on the linked page looks more interesting then what the reader is currently engaged in, they will lose focus on my article, so that is one thing to be watchful of. Overall I think that links are beneficial to an online article with an argument.

I really liked the fact that Noah used some of Goodwin’s work in his article. Being someone who hasn’t read any of Goodwin’s books, and having these concrete examples helped me to better understand Noah’s argument and even convinced me to side with him. The best quotes were the ones that showed the clips from the book that Goodwin supposedly plagiarized off of and then showed the copying paragraph, which he used for the argument that even if words are changed around a very little bit, they must be quoted, because they are not paraphrased enough. They were almost identical, making me believe Noah’s argument.

What are you....Loose or Strict Construction?

I agree with Derek Bok when he describes what should be considered as free speech and what shouldn’t be. There are so many different views of what free speech is just because many people have different personal convictions. Who is to say what constitutes freedom of speech and what doesn’t. Like Bok states, our country has set up some limitations such as laws against defacing property, or indicting those who commit slander or libel, but in the case of the Harvard kids, there is no law that states you can’t express your pride in something because it offends other people.

If this were to happen on IPFW’s campus, I don’t think that the campus officials would be able to do anything about it. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment, even if it does offend them. As long as it isn’t defacing private or public property then it should be allowed. It is the same thing as if I were to display a huge cross in the front of my yard displaying my belief in Jesus Christ. Some people don’t believe in Him and it contradicts their religion. I wouldn’t want the city to come and tell me that I have to take it down just because my neighbors are offended. You have to take something you are passionate for and put it in place of that to understand what the boys MAY have possibly felt about the Confederate Flag or the swastika.
Of course I have run into something like this before. My senior year in high school, someone was suspended in the junior grade for something controversial, it escapes me at the moment, but I remember that the girl’s “sentencing” was debatable. Students who were her friends wore shirts one day that said “Free ____” and then the girl’s name. They were told to change or they would be suspended as well. Freedom of speech in high school is something that is trampled on in almost all schools, I presume.

In conclusion, freedom of speech should be protected within the limits that have been set for us by our elected government officials. Of course, it is never right to yell fire when there is no fire, but you can’t legally stop one from doing it.

Exportation of Elephants

This poster was designed to stop persuade the halting of the exportation of Haitian elephants. Once you understand what the poster is saying, the poster does a good job of making it memorable. The text has a little ring to it to make it stick in your head, “here, there, or everywhere.” It is a simple Dr. Seuss phrase that is used to focus attention the animal. It shows the elephant changed and doing tricks for here and there, and shows the elephant free for everywhere.
The poster is effective once read, but I don’t believe it is eye-catching enough to catch any extra attention. The colors aren’t bright enough and the pictures are really that riveting. They require some text in order to increase its success. So overall it is effective with the text, but initially it doesn’t accomplish its goal.

More Sources

Destefano, Frank, Robert T. Chen, and Gina Mootrey. "Safety of Routine Childhood Vaccinations." Pediatric Drugs 2 (2000): 273-291. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 24 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

Immunizations are one of the most cost-effective inventions in human history, but paradoxically, even though they demolish the chance of the recipient receiving the disease, lately they have been causing mortality in some. While most of the effects of vaccines are adverse, some vaccines have been associated with very rare effects and sometimes death. Because of these things, ongoing vaccine surveillance is necessary and will be necessary to increase confidence in new vaccines that may emerge. Effectively communicating the uncertainty and improving understanding of rare risks are essential to maintain public confidence in vaccines.

Manning, Anita. "Vaccine Debate Simmers." USA Today 10 Feb. 2004, sec. Life: 09d. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 28 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

The long-running debate over whether the preservative thimerosal, found in vaccines, is linked to autism in children had continued with a new series of studies that didn’t do well to settle the question. A 14-member panel reviewed a great deal of information linked to the studies and is generating a report on the information. Some organization’s representing parents of autistic children are worried that the information is being skewed because researchers are afraid to lose funding if the vaccines are found to be dangerous since the government and drug company scientists are so interested in vaccine safety.

"The Vaccine Debate Goes On." TIME 15 Oct. 2007: 19. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 28 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

This article also discusses the link between autism and vaccines due to the preservative, thimerosal, used in some vaccines. According to the 2007 research be the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the substance does not cause neurological diseases. The National Autism Association believes the studies are too narrow and focus on too few of subjects. Overall, whether it is true or not, it is frightening parents and causing them to doubt immunizations.

The first image shows a child who is happy and some text promoting vaccines. Using this photo will cause the viewer to link a happy child with a vaccinated child, which is promoting vaccines. It will also appeal to the pathos side of the viewers. The second image shows a doctor, parent, and child all happy while the child is receiving the vaccine. This does the same as the first photo: linking happiness and vaccines together. The third image is an image of a dog with tetanus. I can use this to show what a disease can do to someone if they don't receive the vaccine. I would have used a person/child with tetanus, but it was just too disturbing. I may have to overcome that feeling for future pictures.

Gore Image Used as Anti-War Shock Ad....Does it Work?

The picture to the left uses only one powerful image to convey an anti-war shock message. The ad uses an oil barrel spilling blood on an American flag to draw, yet disgust its viewers. The picture is very emotional and captivating because of the degree of gruesomeness it displays. It appeals pathos by using blood on the American flag next to a soldier’s helmet and gun in order to make the connection between the blood spilt and our troops. The ad also appeals to the ethical side of people, making them question whether it is really right to be at war. This ad does a very good job at attracting people and tugging at their emotions, showing that it is successfully conveying its message to most people.

Three Sources

Harding, Anne. "Easing Vaccine Fears." Baby Talk os 69 (2004): 19. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

Immunization rates in the United States are growing rapidly every year, but so is fear parents have who wish their kids to get vaccinations. A major concern parents have is that their child’s immune system will be overloaded with too many vaccines, but the amount of components of capable of triggering a reaction to the vaccine is a drip in the bucket compared the components in the average ear infection. It is ok if a child has a few side effects from the vaccine; they are not uncommon, so parents should not be worried about that. Also, it is very important that children receive their vaccines. It not only helps to keep the child safe, but all children safe by keeping immunization rates up and the disease scarce.

Heil, Emily. "Terror Concerns Shelve Some Health Efforts." CongressDaily 21 Sept. 2003, AM ed.: 13. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

The terror attacks on September 11, 2001 and the anthrax scare not long after have shelved some important health efforts. Before the attacks, legislative officials were clamoring for lots of issues to be resolved relating health such as more nutritious school lunches or even lowering diabetes rates. Now health initiatives have focused mostly on preparing for bioterrorism. These initiatives have been mainly security-related, including a bill to compensate workers who experience side effects from the small pox vaccine, a vaccine given to healthcare workers because it is feared to be a possible disease used in bioterrorism.

Abramson, Jon S. MD, and Larry K. Pickering MD. "US Immunization Policy." Journal of the American Medical Association 287 (2002): 505-509. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Indiana Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne. 17 Oct. 2007 http://www.inspire.net.

Immunization is one of public health’s most crowning achievements for the 20 century. Successes of immunization include the elimination of two diseases from the United States and the reduction a number of serious diseases by 95%. Of course there are some side effects to vaccines, like all other preventative modalities in medicine, but fortunately serious adverse effects are very rare. All though vaccines are a great achievement, the immunization program faces challenges that could potentially threaten the use of vaccines, including accusations of harmful effects of the vaccines, the increasing number needed, the cost of them, and the fragility of them.

Poll Questions

Possible Poll Questions about Safety of Vaccines:

1.) How many vaccines would you trust doctors to inject into your small child?

2.) Have you allowed your children to recieve all updated vaccines?

3.)Are you familiar with the link between child vaccines and autism?

4.)Do you keep your child healthy by giving them updated vaccines?

5.)Is the healthcare system being to pushy when it comes to giving children needed vaccines?

6.) Should the government continue to mandate vaccines, or allow parents and individuals to decide what vaccines to recieve

7.) If kids don't receive the vaccines needed to keep them healthy, are the parents bad parents?

Possible Claims

*Unfortunately I could not upload the graph, so here is the link:

http://usatoday.com/news/snapshot.htm?section=N&label=2007-10-19-oil





It is the seventeenth slide of the news.



Possible Claim #1: The majority of people are not afraid of bridges, therefore, extra safety precautions on bridges that cost extra money are not necessary.





Possible Claim #2: A whopping 40% of people are afraid of bridges, most likely due to devestating collapses, therefore, bridge inspections should be more frequent and more thorough





Possible Claim #3: The majority of people are not afraid of bridges, therefore, those who are in the minority have an irrational fear of bridges.

IPFW's OVRC

I got a chance to search the OVRC on IPFW’s website in the library database. I researched the topic of vaccines because I am very interested in them and the medical field. I learned that there is a lot more controversy surrounding vaccines then I thought. I was surprised to see all the different articles surrounding vaccines; there were a lot more than I thought there would be. I think seeing the variety of the articles and the amount of them will help me to use this as my topic for my argument of fact research paper.

What's up with Surveillance?

Our society is very insistent on having their privacy when it comes to almost everything. Privacy is a great privilege to have and should be cherished every second it is experienced, however, sometimes having something be made public is better than remaining private. Having a lot of different types of surveillance in public places only enhances our society and helps to catch crime on tape as well as prevent crime from happening.

Having surveillance in public places is very important to the public. It helps to catch on tape something that may be unlawful that happens. Just like the example from the police brutality video on YouTube. A cashier was accused of robbing the police of his change and was yelled at, told she was being arrested, and eventually pepper sprayed by the police. The evidence from the surveillance tape shows the cashier was right and the police officer was wrong. Without having the tape it would have been the cop’s word against a teenage girl’s word, which could have very easily played out differently.

Having camera’s in public places could also help to identify a criminal if it catches them actually committing the crime. These cameras’ tapes are used in court cases as evidence all the time and can usually help bring the culprit to justice. The tapes are beneficial to everyone and help to enhance our society’s safety.

The surveillance tapes also help to prevent crime. When a person walks into a drugstore with the thought in their head that they want to lift a couple of things from the store and they see all kinds of cameras all around the store, they may think twice about taking anything. Seeing the cameras would probably spook them and cause them to not want to possibly get caught by the police

A lot of people think that having cameras like that are an invasion of privacy, but how could a camera out in a public place be an invasion of privacy and unlawful? Only good can come of surveillance cameras in public places. This is why all this surveillance is profitable for our society.

Arguable Topics for College Students

Are the topics listed below worth arguing to college students?
Hurricanes are increasing in number and ferocity: No, because it is related to natural disasters which are interesting to watch on television, but when arguing a topic that is supported by evidence that is widely known, a college student is not going to want to sit a listen to someone argue a fact that cannot be changed.

Many people die annually of cancer: Yes, because it would appeal to the Biology and Chemistry majors who are looking into medical and medicinal research. This topic is one that can also be driven with an ending discussing what can be done about it.

Japan might have come to terms more readily in 1945 if the Allies hadn’t demanded unconditional surrender: No, because I don't think this would interest any college students; most of them see the past as the past and nothing can be done about it, so why dwell on it?

Boys would do better in school if there were more men teaching in elementary and secondary classrooms: Yes, because this is a pretty arguable statement and can attract men studying to be a teacher as well as women who are interested to hear the speaker’s angle.

The ever-increasing number of minorities in higher education is evidence that racial problems have just about ended in the United States: Yes, because this is also a good arguable topic because it can be counter-argued easily by a school that contains minorities or doesn’t.

There aren’t enough high-paying jobs for college graduates these days: Yes, because it is talking about the audience in the very near future.

Hydrogen may never be a viable alternative to fossil fuels because it takes too much energy to change hydrogen into a useable form: Yes, because it is a controversial topic in the news these days and most college students are interested in what’s going on in the world today.

Only one of the first forty-three presidents of the United States was Catholic: No, because college students would definitely not find this topic interesting.

Political activists have grossly exaggerated the effects of the USA Patriot Act on free expression: Yes, because this is also a very controversial topic in the news these days.

When browsing the op-ed pieces of The Washington Post, I decided that one article really stood out to me. It was entitled, "On Vaccines, Immune to Reason," by Paul Howard. This article contains information that would be something that I would really like to use as my research topic. It discusses vaccines and how parents have lost faith in childhood vaccines and must regain that faith.

This topic is a big deal for me, because I wrote a medical research paper my senior year of high school about the vaccine called Gardisil, that it meant to prevent most cases of cervical cancer in women. The research was so interesting and vaccines are made to help people. Plus, I am majoring in Biology now, and while my interests in the field vary greatly, I am looking at the possibility of medicinal research as a career.

The topic is important because the mortality of children has greatly decreased in the United States since the 1950's because of the new vaccines and medicines and our country has to keep it that way. Also, there are so many children in third world countries that need these vaccines.

People should understand that vaccines are good and that if education were to increase on the functions and pros of vaccines, the acceptance level would greatly increase.

Pink Think and Gansta Think

When reading the article by Lynn Peril, you can't help but recognize the stereotypes she describes. Another type of stereotype that influences our society is called "gansta think." This stereotype is that black males dressed like gansters, must be getting into trouble and commiting crimes. We see this because of the way movies and tv shows have been portraying gansters. It helps feed the racist attitudes of our society. For example, watching the movie Be Cool, the gansters in the movie are all black. They drive black hummers with spinners, play really loud rap music, and make it a daily routine of killing people. When watching that movie, you can't help but think "you know, that is what it's like," when in fact it is mainly a stereotype that they feel they must play into.

Our troops

Before the war even began, I didn't think that going to Iraq was a very good idea. Granted, I wasn't very old, but I still knew that there wasn't any real, definite reason for going to Iraq that had to do solely with the United States. We were after Al Qaeida, which was in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

With that, I have never been fully supportive of the Iraq war, and after reading the posts, now I am sure that it wasn't a good idea to go to Iraq. Recently I also watch a war movie about troops in Somali, called Black Hawk Down, that helped put into perspective what war is like nowadays. It is so intense and so brutal and reading the posts from the soldiers, it makes my heart hurt. Reading the real stories brings home the feelings I experience while watching the movie and now I think they should be brought home.

Simple Criteria, Which Makes the Problem

The criteria for marriage is really very simple, however, the discussion of that criteria has become one of the most controversial topics discussed today. The Constitution legally defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman only. That is the only criteria of marriage: it is between one man and one woman. Gays and lesbians have the exact same right as everyone else, the only problem is they would probably much rather have the union between the same sex. They are still getting the same marriage privileges, they just aren’t what they want, which is the only problem.

Editing the Essay about Coldplay

When I read the essay about the guy who hated Coldplay, I decided that I would have given him a B on the essay because he only gave one reason why they are horrible, talked circles around it, but defended it well.

When reading the essay, you find out somewhere in the first or second paragraph that the writer does not like the band Coldplay. He states that he doesn't like them because of the range that the songs are written in; they are too high for the lead singer to sing. This is a well constructed argument and he has clearly thought of many defenses to the argument

He goes on to state that they should lower the songs and that would make them a better band. But he it seems he could have said this in a much shorter amount of writing. Maybe it is because I am a very analytical writer; I like to get to the point and just focus on it. The writer uses examples of songs and lyrics to help prove his point, but he seems to also put a lot of extra words into a sentence to just make it more elevated. This isn't effective, because he loses his audience in his flowery wording and misses his chance to captivate them.

All in all, he did a good job defending his one and only point, he just should have got rid of the extra wording and it would have been worth an A!

Evaluation

When discussing what makes a good NFL quaterback some of the criteria that should be used to evaluate the choice should include:

1. Record breaking number of passing yards
2. Record breaking number of touchdown passes
3. Ability to read the defense quickly, find the wide reciever or tight-end immediately and make the split-second decision on what should be done.
4. Not be afraid to do something daring, like pass well to someone well covered and have faith in them
5. Be able to recognize the possibility of a blitz and still execute the play successfully.

These are all things that are necessary for a quarterback to be excellent instead of just average.

Now if I were to evaluate spoken word poetry, which I know nothing about, I would want to research this topic using poetry archives that include performances, the library, and perhaps even visiting a coffee house on the weekends! Once I do these things, I will be able to come up with criteria that would defend my evaluation of a great spoken word poet.

Milblogs4

This time while reading the milblogs, I had the chance to incoporate something I learned from my Anatomy and Physiology class in high school last year. I felt like I may have actually help explain something that was talked about in a post. I felt kind of important....

Analyzing a website's graphics

The site I chose to analyze, graphic wise, is www.bfro.com. I think this site does a really good job at arranging pictures and information to make it the most effective. The fonts are different and are used to emphasize the points they are making. For example, the title of the website is supposed to be ominous and the creator used an ominous type of text, which is very smart. Also, the points that are important are bolded and larger than the rest of the text. When the text is related to the graphics, it is usually to the left or very near to it. It makes the viewer know for sure what picture the text is talking about. The website also does a good job with displaying the appropriate colors when needed. It kind of uses a scheme of dark colors, once again to emphasize the ominous fashion of the website. It easily engages the common viewer, like me, which is why I chose this site over the other one given.

In 1998, Clarence Williams won the Pulitzer Prize for his powerful images showing the troubles of young children with parents addicted to drugs and alcohol. The photo I chose is particularly powerful due to the placing of the mother and daughter and the brilliant elements used to prey upon viewers emotional weaknesses. The mother is at the front of the photograph with only her arm, where she is shooting up, is showing. Behind her sits her daughter burying her head into her knees. Having the mother in front of the daughter with her back to her depicts how the mother really acts towards her daughter. The girl is in the background suffering, just as she does in life. Seeing this photograph, viewers can’t help but feel bad for the little girl and her situation, making the argument that these kinds of things are happening and we, as a society, should not be ignoring it, we should be helping.

WIKI

www.allaboutjen.pbwiki.com

I think that this wiki idea is going to be a good way for all of us students to get to know each other better!

Millblogs3

I just got a chance to read about a post dealing with Church and State separation. I am a strong Christian and it hurts me to hear that anyone is being pushed into ANY religion. Freedom of choice. Of course I have my own views and of course I try to share them with people, but I would never push it upon someone. Something has to be done, because government and religion don't mesh and shouldn't mess with each other.

Analyzing politcal blogs

The blog I chose to analyze was www.andrewsullivan.com. In this blog, entitled “The Daily Dish” , the author goes into detail about many different daily events. These events range from information about the Pope, to different interviews that are likely to happen on Fox News.
When reading some of the authors posts, it seems that he comments on events; not necessarily ones that are attacking a newspaper article, but also ones about announcements. For example, he writes about an announcement that says that a general and an ambassador are giving Fox News an exclusive hour long interview. He precedes to say that if they are agreeing to appear on Fox, then they should also appear on other than a purely Republican network. If these two individuals don’t, then they have to disclaim their neutrality.
To me, it doesn’t seem that he is pointing out fallacies of these events or newspaper articles. I think that he is relying on the fact that his readers understand what the fallacies are and understand the point that he is trying to make.
The only fallacy that is somewhat evident is moral equivalence. He talks about how descendants of Holocaust victims seem eager to support the “evils of totalitarianism.” He exclaims that he doesn’t understand how these two things are morally different, pointing out the fallacy of moral equivalence.
Another thing that Andrew Sullivan does is he cites different passages from some of his readers posts on his arguments. This makes him seem like he is trying to rope in some of the other readers into continue to write to him because he MAY or MAY NOT reference you in his blog.
Overall, Andrew Sullivan doesn’t really point out any flashpoints or fallacies, I think he expects his readers to be read on things like that and be in tune to the fallacies of news stations.

Women's role in advertising

In the presentation on women’s role in advertising, the strategies used to convey the message that ads are influential and women are being exposed in them, are very useful and successful. Jean Kilbourne begins the advertisement by saying some alarming statistics about the amount of ads that a person will see in a n average day. This is a very strategic movie, because most audiences tend to remember the first and last thing the most when hearing a presentation. Stating this set of ad statistics allows for the audience to remember the ads when they hear them and to think about the possible effect it might be having on them.
Jean also makes sure to have a clear and organized structure to the presentation of her argument making it easy to follow and to get the main points out of her argument. She makes sure to pause right before she switches points in her argument. She also uses good diction and syntax.
Jean uses visuals to also help get her argument across. Her use of these visuals is very effective. She uses examples of ads that are proof of what she is talking about at that moment. She also uses popular ads as visuals knowing that her audience will recognize them and make them think twice about the ads they see regularly.
Another way to increase effectiveness of her argument, Jean dresses and acts the part. She dresses very conservatively and acts conservatively. She makes sure to have good eye contact and mean what she says. She is fighting for the image of strong independent women and when she presents herself to the audience, she is conveying the type of women she is trying to support.
The most memorable thing that I heard while listening to the presentation given by Jean is the amount of ads a person sees in a day and the amount of teenage girls with an eating disorder. Having statistics in the presentation definitely causes something to remember it, making them very useful. I had no idea that we see around 3000 ads a day and that 1 in every 5 girls have a legitimate eating disorder. Those numbers are incredible.
I believe that Jean’s presentation was effective. She used lots of different strategies to get her point across and it proved to be memorable and left an impression upon me. Now, that is what I call “effective!”

Millblogs2

I got a chance to read a few more of the posts on the millitary blogs website, and I was once again blown away by the stories of courage, violence and peace. It was another chance to break free of the filtered news shows and stories highlighting only things that the public "needs" to hear. It was once again a breath of fresh air.

Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ

The website that I chose is a puma shoes website that allows you to make your own shoe in a fashion that resembles a Mongolian barbecue restaurant. This website communicates that message digitally better than it would if it were orally given or in a presentation because of the nature of the product. The target audience is young adults and where are young adults mostly? On the web! Also, the special effects of picking your colors for your shoe and creating the design of your shoe are better shown on a website than they would be in a printed presentation.

Seeing the puma shoes on a piece of paper is way different than getting a chance to create the shoe and then purchase it online. You have the chance to interact and make your own shoe. Kids want to be in charge of their life these days, and this website allows them to be in charge of what kind of shoe they want. It is easier to get an audience’s attention when there is a possibility of them making all the decisions. If a teenager were to see a pair of shoes in a catalog, it may not catch their eye, but seeing their own creation online will hook them instantly.

If you were to take this material and change it into a print or oral presentation, you would definitely lose some of its creativeness in the process. It would take a lot of pictures and colors to change the format of the advertisements. The presenter would have to print out directions on how to make the shoe and what kinds of options a customer might have. A presenter, if giving the presentation orally, would have to give a demonstration or have some models on display. Doing this, you would lose the one of the most important aspects of the online advertisement: the interaction. The interaction of the customer creating the shoe is the most important part of selling the shoe. If the customer can’t pick what they want directly, then they may not be so inclined to spend that much money on the pair of shoes. Therefore, having the online website to sell the make your own shoes by puma is the best option.

Military Blogs

Reading the Military Blogs was much more beneficial than I thought it would be. Having a chance to read what some of the soldiers are feeling and what they are going through puts into perspective what they are really doing while in Iraq. It helps to keep in mind that we still have MANY soldiers over in Iraq and that we should be constantly thanking them and praying for their safety.

Having a chance to then respond to their posts left me with a great feeling as well. It made me feel good to think that when those soldiers I responded to get my message, they may feel better. They will think people care about what I have to say and maybe continue to do so.

This is a great example of how blogging can be so beneficial.

Facebook and Myspace: Friend or Foe?

It is the same as it has always been, ever since preschool the minority of kids that misbehave are ruining it for the rest of us.

Personally, I believe that Facebook and Myspace are just two ways teens and young adults can express their individuality. Sure there are some pros and cons, but you would expect that. Being only a user of Facebook, I can say that I chose this particular site due to its privacy settings. Only people that are my friends can read any of my information or see any of my pictures. I use Facebook to keep in contact with my friends from high school and college and family members that live far away. It is an easy way for all of them to see vacation pictures and learn about the things I am in to.

Some people believe Facebook and Myspace are not good because of the things that are being posted by certain people, such as the bragging about drinking, doing drugs, who they have had sex with, or posting risqué pictures. This is not the problem of the websites’; it is the kids’ faults who are posting this stuff. It is all about personal convictions. They don’t feel that it is wrong, so they do it. If kids are willing to post these things, it is their own fault, and if it causes them a job because of what employers are reading, then that is something they will personally have to deal with. Parents are also concerned about peer pressure making it to the web and their children being subjected to things their kids don’t ever want to see. I have never felt even a little peer pressure to write about what I have done over the weekend, let alone make up something. Sure, I read offensive things but I have been taught right from wrong, so ignore it. Plus, Facebook has an option that allows any member to report something that is offensive and the web staff will take care of it.

It is hard to regulate what teens are putting onto websites mainly because of the phrase “freedom of speech” written in the first amendment. As long as it is not libel or child pornography, then parents and school administrators have to face the reality that it is legal and there is nothing they can really do about the whole operation. They can put restrictions against using the site on their kids or students, but ultimately, the kids are free to do as they please.

Parents should just have a little more faith in the morals they taught their children and let them have a little fun on Facebook.

James Sosnoski: The Hyper-readers and their Reading Engines

When I finished reading the article, I got the sense that Sosnoski was embracing the fact that reading texts online is going to become a common habit. He did not bury himself in the debate of whether it was going to happen or not. He merely looked at the evidence around him and came to a conclusion.

Once Sosnoski came to the conclusion that online reading is going to be common and is common, he went in to detail about hyper reading and how it differs from reading a print-text. He discusses things such as skimming, imposing, filming, etc. He describes each of these elements as “techniques” used to read the information needed when searching for something specific on the web. For example, when someone uses a search engine to locate specific information, they are in all reality filtering, as you would when looking up something in a index of a print text. When you realize this, it is just one of those things were you think, “Huh, Sosnoski is right. We are doing that.”

Reading this article has enlightened me on techniques I use, sometimes blindly, while on the internet researching something or looking for particular information. Such as using a search engine, which I discussed above.