Sunday, December 7, 2008
In my argument essay, I wrote about a hardship license. This is where a minor is allowed to drive before he or she receives an actually drivers license. There are very strict rules on when the minor can drive and it is only given to those who need to be able to drive themselves. I had a hardship and it allowed me to drive to and from school Monday through Friday. I directed my essay towards adults who think that teenagers shouldn't be allowed to drive. My argument was that these licenses have enough restrictions to keep teenagers safe on the roads and to keep others safe. I think that more teenagers should have a hardship license because I know that it prepared me for my driver's license. With my revised argument essay I plan to persuade teenage drivers to take a step and apply for a hardship. I want to persuade teens to drive early that have parents that either needs help financially or who need their kids to be able to drive themselves to school. Those who need to get a job need to step up and do something about it. My way of appealing to the teenage audience is to make a billboard. I want to focus more on the picture and have a short but sweet phrase to catch their attention on the road. I picked a billboard because I think it is most affective for teenagers who are about to drive. I know that I started paying attention to the roads before I started to drive and looking at billboards was a daily routine for me. I plan to have a plain white background so that my add will stand out to drivers. At the very top left of the billboard, the words "Do your parents need help?" I think that a short question like this is an affective to advertise to teenagers. To continue the ad, I plan to have a big picture of an appealing car in the center of the billboard. A car is like gold to young teens, and I am hoping to find a picture of a red car so that it will jump out at the audience. I am not sure what kind of car I am going to pick yet, but I want to pick a popular model that teens will recognize. On the bottom right side of the billboard I will have the words "Apply for a hardship license." The font for both of these sentences will be black and the bottom sentence will be in a bigger font size than the top sentence. I want my message to be obvious and to be readable from the highway. This is also another factor in why I wanted my sentences to be short because when someone is driving, they do not have time to read a long message on a billboard. It is more about the picture than anything on a billboard. Most billboards focus on catching driver's attention with a picture, and I plan to do the same. Below the left corner, I will have in smaller font "Contact your local DPS." I learned through this process that advertising is all about catching your audience's attention. I also learned how to redirect my writing towards a different audience. I think that I learned the location of the visual in an ad is everything. I think that for my case the middle is the most affective way to target my audience. I learned that the age group of the audience is a big factor in how a visual is picked out. For my presentation, I will give a brief statement on what my argument essay was about. After this I plan to present my visual and explain how I targeted teenagers without a drivers license. I will explain how my message conveys that hardships can help out families and I will also explain how I will appeal to teenagers by having a cool car as the visual. I plan on going into detail on my font choice and color choice. Also I will explain why my background is white and why I think it is affective. I want to convince the teens that hardships are something that can benefit families along with the teenager.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Reading Response #4.
In the readings Mangu-Ward, Joh and Quarmby all explore controversial matters of privacy and the fourth amendment. Magu- Ward's central claim was the debate about surveillance cameras violating out privacy. Joh's central claim was the idea of collecting abandoned DNA and if it is a problem that needs to be addressed to protect our right to privacy. Quarmby's central claim was to explore the idea of a nation DNA identification card. All of the author's write about an issue that could be violating our right to privacy. By providing examples and facts, I think that I got a lot from the writings.
Mangu-Ward asks if people would not go into a fertility clinic, a gay bar, or even a psychiatrist office if they knew that they were being watched. I first thought that if I was going into any of these places and I knew someone was watching me, I would defiantly not go. Mangu-Ward said that most people would still go to these places if they knew they were being watched which was different than what I thought. Ward dug into the benefits of surveillance cameras and how they are good for security. He also dug into how some think that it is a violation of privacy. I personally think that cameras are good things because crime can be stopped and police officers are being observed. An officer said that he gets nervous knowing that big brother is watching over him. In New York, cameras are everywhere. Ward said that "New York already boasts three or four thousand cameras, mostly private, and the number will continue to grow. " (Mangu-Ward 12) Considering that New York is very dangerous, I think that this is a good thing and my prior beliefs were confirmed when I read Ward's writings.
Joh caught my attention with a story of an LA police officer solving a crime with a simple coffee cup. The person who they were investigating drank a cup of coffee and the officer used the saliva to match a murder case to the suspect. He was successful and I think that collection of abandoned DNA will help us solve more crimes. DNA can be used for more than just solving crimes. Joh found that "not only can DNA provide nearly unassailable evidence of identity, it may one day be used to identify and segregate those who possess a "crime gene."" (Joh 34) By identifying this gene early on, help can be sought in order to prevent this person from becoming an actual criminal. The bad part about abandoned DNA is that we don't know if our DNA has been taken or looked at which is scary, but that is where we need to trust our government and know that they are not abusing this power. Also our government needs to show us that we can trust them. I was influenced by the research and evidence. I have a better understanding of abandoned DNA now and my prior beliefs were that the police should be able to use abandoned DNA and they didn't change. If anything, they became stronger.
Quarmby's writings were shorter than the other two, but the idea of having a national identification card has been considered. It is said to not be violating our privacy rights, and could help the security of our country. It would be a nationwide system so that it would be the most effective. I would not be opposed to such a card because from the information and evidence shown, it is evident that the card would be used to keep out country safe. I had never heard of this idea so Quarmby informed of useful information.
Mangu-Ward's evidence was mostly from personal experience, which would make it primary research. This is because it's coming from the author. Joh uses personal experience along with references to secondary research. I think that this method was the most affective of the three. She has the facts and the experience, which is valuable. Quarmby used mostly secondary research using facts and references. I think that the diversity of the authors helped me have a better understanding of how I feel about privacy. I believe that there should be a balance with cameras, abandoned DNA, and even having an identification card. All of these things can benefit us if they are not taken advantage of, and the readings confirmed my beliefs.
Mangu-Ward asks if people would not go into a fertility clinic, a gay bar, or even a psychiatrist office if they knew that they were being watched. I first thought that if I was going into any of these places and I knew someone was watching me, I would defiantly not go. Mangu-Ward said that most people would still go to these places if they knew they were being watched which was different than what I thought. Ward dug into the benefits of surveillance cameras and how they are good for security. He also dug into how some think that it is a violation of privacy. I personally think that cameras are good things because crime can be stopped and police officers are being observed. An officer said that he gets nervous knowing that big brother is watching over him. In New York, cameras are everywhere. Ward said that "New York already boasts three or four thousand cameras, mostly private, and the number will continue to grow. " (Mangu-Ward 12) Considering that New York is very dangerous, I think that this is a good thing and my prior beliefs were confirmed when I read Ward's writings.
Joh caught my attention with a story of an LA police officer solving a crime with a simple coffee cup. The person who they were investigating drank a cup of coffee and the officer used the saliva to match a murder case to the suspect. He was successful and I think that collection of abandoned DNA will help us solve more crimes. DNA can be used for more than just solving crimes. Joh found that "not only can DNA provide nearly unassailable evidence of identity, it may one day be used to identify and segregate those who possess a "crime gene."" (Joh 34) By identifying this gene early on, help can be sought in order to prevent this person from becoming an actual criminal. The bad part about abandoned DNA is that we don't know if our DNA has been taken or looked at which is scary, but that is where we need to trust our government and know that they are not abusing this power. Also our government needs to show us that we can trust them. I was influenced by the research and evidence. I have a better understanding of abandoned DNA now and my prior beliefs were that the police should be able to use abandoned DNA and they didn't change. If anything, they became stronger.
Quarmby's writings were shorter than the other two, but the idea of having a national identification card has been considered. It is said to not be violating our privacy rights, and could help the security of our country. It would be a nationwide system so that it would be the most effective. I would not be opposed to such a card because from the information and evidence shown, it is evident that the card would be used to keep out country safe. I had never heard of this idea so Quarmby informed of useful information.
Mangu-Ward's evidence was mostly from personal experience, which would make it primary research. This is because it's coming from the author. Joh uses personal experience along with references to secondary research. I think that this method was the most affective of the three. She has the facts and the experience, which is valuable. Quarmby used mostly secondary research using facts and references. I think that the diversity of the authors helped me have a better understanding of how I feel about privacy. I believe that there should be a balance with cameras, abandoned DNA, and even having an identification card. All of these things can benefit us if they are not taken advantage of, and the readings confirmed my beliefs.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Reading Response #3
Both The Coffee Shop and The Dope on Head Shops demonstrated some of Ballenger's features of the form for ethnography, which were effective ways to describe the culture they are studying. In The coffee shop, the author observed as an employee. This was an example of the feature of the form where "the bulk of research takes place in the natural settings where group members are gathered." (Ballenger 373) Casassa was able to observe the coffee drinkers from first hand, behind the register. The small coffee shop, which was not a chain, gave the community a place where they were comfortable. The town is very active in this local coffee shop. There are newspaper articles on the walls of local athletic events and also locals feel free to hang posters. There is a certain atmosphere at this shop that makes it more popular than Starbucks. In The Dope on Head Shops, the author performed research on items bought in these head shops. Dudley showed me that "ethnography is often openly subjective." (Ballanger 374) Throughout the collective data he tried to go deep into what these stores sell, which is mainly hemp products. Back in 1966, when the first head shop was established, they were open about marijuana use with their products. Now there are signs on their products that say for tobacco use only. Although these head shops have changed their focus of advertising, the products remain the same. There are still glass pipes sold, along with hemp clothing and accessories. This essay also uses another feature of the form where "they focus on groups of people who identify themselves as group members." (Ballenger 373) "No person affiliated with The Hempest whom I spoke to would actually call the store a head shop, preferring instead to call it a "hemp clothing botique." These people that Dudley were talking to obviously spend a lot of time in this store and are hesitant to calling it a head shop. I feel as if they think of the store as more than a place that sells marijuana related things and think of it as a natural hemp store. A store where pesticides are not used to make clothing as it is in cotton. There must be some pride in the store.
Both authors enacted what I learned in chapter 10 by actually showing me how an ethnographic essay is written. Casassa wrote the essay by observing the coffee drinking from behind the register. Her evidence provided for her interpretation of the local coffee shop was shown through her observation. She worked there and made observations throughout her day. She showed examples of the different coffee drinkers that come in at different times. Her 7:00 am costumers were eager to get the first cup of coffee, claim their seats, and get the freshest food to start off their mornings. Usually the costumers are in a good mood in the mornings. Whereas at noon, the crowd of students run out the parents and gossip about their late nights on their cell phones. She has a very efficient way of providing evidence because she is there to see everything. Dudley used more of a research method to interpret the culture of head shops and even interviewed some people, which I quoted earlier in my essay. He found that the first head shop was in San Francisco in 1966. "Although the genuine hippie culture of the sixties has almost completely disappeared or been appropriated, The Hempest has no problem finding a market for its products." (Ballenger b41) He showed that despite all of the different transitions in our culture, these stores still have good business. In fact, "Estimated retail sales for hemp-food and body-care products in the U.S.S exceeded $25 million in 2000, and up from less than $1 million in the early '90s (Wildorf)" (Ballanger B43) He was able to bring things from the past to justify the facts of the present time. The fact is, the hippie era is long gone, and head shops still remain a profitable business.
I hope to perform research like Casassa and Dudley used and I hope to find a balance to where I can personally observe the culture while performing research and interviews. I am not sure what topic I am going to use but Ballenger's features of the form will be tied into my essay as they were in both of the authors work.
Both The Coffee Shop and The Dope on Head Shops demonstrated some of Ballenger's features of the form for ethnography, which were effective ways to describe the culture they are studying. In The coffee shop, the author observed as an employee. This was an example of the feature of the form where "the bulk of research takes place in the natural settings where group members are gathered." (Ballenger 373) Casassa was able to observe the coffee drinkers from first hand, behind the register. The small coffee shop, which was not a chain, gave the community a place where they were comfortable. The town is very active in this local coffee shop. There are newspaper articles on the walls of local athletic events and also locals feel free to hang posters. There is a certain atmosphere at this shop that makes it more popular than Starbucks. In The Dope on Head Shops, the author performed research on items bought in these head shops. Dudley showed me that "ethnography is often openly subjective." (Ballanger 374) Throughout the collective data he tried to go deep into what these stores sell, which is mainly hemp products. Back in 1966, when the first head shop was established, they were open about marijuana use with their products. Now there are signs on their products that say for tobacco use only. Although these head shops have changed their focus of advertising, the products remain the same. There are still glass pipes sold, along with hemp clothing and accessories. This essay also uses another feature of the form where "they focus on groups of people who identify themselves as group members." (Ballenger 373) "No person affiliated with The Hempest whom I spoke to would actually call the store a head shop, preferring instead to call it a "hemp clothing botique." These people that Dudley were talking to obviously spend a lot of time in this store and are hesitant to calling it a head shop. I feel as if they think of the store as more than a place that sells marijuana related things and think of it as a natural hemp store. A store where pesticides are not used to make clothing as it is in cotton. There must be some pride in the store.
Both authors enacted what I learned in chapter 10 by actually showing me how an ethnographic essay is written. Casassa wrote the essay by observing the coffee drinking from behind the register. Her evidence provided for her interpretation of the local coffee shop was shown through her observation. She worked there and made observations throughout her day. She showed examples of the different coffee drinkers that come in at different times. Her 7:00 am costumers were eager to get the first cup of coffee, claim their seats, and get the freshest food to start off their mornings. Usually the costumers are in a good mood in the mornings. Whereas at noon, the crowd of students run out the parents and gossip about their late nights on their cell phones. She has a very efficient way of providing evidence because she is there to see everything. Dudley used more of a research method to interpret the culture of head shops and even interviewed some people, which I quoted earlier in my essay. He found that the first head shop was in San Francisco in 1966. "Although the genuine hippie culture of the sixties has almost completely disappeared or been appropriated, The Hempest has no problem finding a market for its products." (Ballenger b41) He showed that despite all of the different transitions in our culture, these stores still have good business. In fact, "Estimated retail sales for hemp-food and body-care products in the U.S.S exceeded $25 million in 2000, and up from less than $1 million in the early '90s (Wildorf)" (Ballanger B43) He was able to bring things from the past to justify the facts of the present time. The fact is, the hippie era is long gone, and head shops still remain a profitable business.
I hope to perform research like Casassa and Dudley used and I hope to find a balance to where I can personally observe the culture while performing research and interviews. I am not sure what topic I am going to use but Ballenger's features of the form will be tied into my essay as they were in both of the authors work.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tentative Topic: Anorexia affecting teenagers.
Tentative Research: Find sources of what causes this disease and how it takes over their lives as well as the effects.
Rationale-: I wanted to explore this topic because I have witnessed a few close friends who have suffered from this disease. I want to know how anorexics think while they starve themselves, and how they learn to cover it up. I think that my essay will stop people, especially teenage girls, from skipping meals. The discovery in my essay could really help someone before they develop this life threatening disease.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Reading Response 2
Brown and Holmquist both chose a personal topic to research that they were curious about. Brown wondered why people tan and realized that everyone feels healthier with a golden tint. She explored the idea of tanning beds and voiced her opinion about how beds cheat you from the natural way of tanning. Holmquist explored the topic of drugs and was once a drug user. He already understood why people take these dangerous drugs, but soon discovered that these drugs are deadly. He states that "I have my whole life ahead of me still and I don't want to end up as another statistic or have one of my friends write a paper like this because of me." (Holmquist B29) Both essays gave facts while showing personal thought at the same time.
At the beginning of Brown's essay, she wonders why anyone would tan and have results of wrinkles or even skin cancer. Then she realized that she had a tan from the summer and not from a tanning bed. She was satisfied with feeling tan and knowing that it was from "the old fashioned way, playing in the sun." (Brown 458) Whatever happened to enjoying the outdoors? Who would want to pay for a tan when they could just go outside? "2/3 of the teens say they look better with a tan and feel better with a tan and feel healthier, more sophisticated and 50% said they look more athletic." (Brown 460) Teens feel the need to be tan, and as a result, tanning beds are making money and giving people cancer. I have a friend who recently had skin cancer removed from her leg as a result of fake tanning, so I take this topic very seriously. I think that Brown does a good job of saying that tanning may not be the greatest thing for the body, but at least enjoy the outdoors while doing so. Her four sources give facts about tanning and really helps her show her thoughts on the sun, tanning salons, and whether or not the sun is really a bad thing. She showed me how a research paper can be used to explore a topic that is interesting to the writer. In my essay I want to choose my topic on something that I am really curious about like Brown.
Holmquist had a very interesting topic and one that was obviously very important to him. Being a drug user and exploring the danger of drugs must have brought back some memories for him, but he was able to focus on how the three party drugs affect the mind and the body. "Most users view party drugs as being safe." (Holmquist B26) He discovered how he was putting himself in danger and was able to tie personal experience in with his research. His sources help him show how these drugs make you feel and how they have bad affects. For instance, ecstasy also known as MDMA " has become popular because of its ability to create companionship and attachment for young people who are seeking, but feel weak to ties to society." (Holmquist B26; Pederson 1704) Who wouldn't want to love and be more open to people? Maybe if people knew that it is possible to "get overheated and if not treated immediately death is possible," (Holmquist B28; Boot 2000) they would think twice before using it. He also explores the use of LSD and GHB and their affects. A lot of personal experience led to the topic of this essay. "What would make these people feel so passionately about their pro- or anti-drug views? Is something that the government finds harmful, yet so many people say is harmless, really that bad for you?" (Holmquist B24) I think that these questions sparked Holmquist's discovery essay. In my essay I hope that I can relate personal experience to my sources as well as Holmquist and I think his writing style will influence how I write my paper. I like how he starts with a personal experience of using drugs and then dove into the topic of why people use these drugs and how they are bad for you. He used many sources, more than the usual four.
Both essays use many of Ballenger's suggestions and have shown me how a research paper can be used to explain personal curiosity.
At the beginning of Brown's essay, she wonders why anyone would tan and have results of wrinkles or even skin cancer. Then she realized that she had a tan from the summer and not from a tanning bed. She was satisfied with feeling tan and knowing that it was from "the old fashioned way, playing in the sun." (Brown 458) Whatever happened to enjoying the outdoors? Who would want to pay for a tan when they could just go outside? "2/3 of the teens say they look better with a tan and feel better with a tan and feel healthier, more sophisticated and 50% said they look more athletic." (Brown 460) Teens feel the need to be tan, and as a result, tanning beds are making money and giving people cancer. I have a friend who recently had skin cancer removed from her leg as a result of fake tanning, so I take this topic very seriously. I think that Brown does a good job of saying that tanning may not be the greatest thing for the body, but at least enjoy the outdoors while doing so. Her four sources give facts about tanning and really helps her show her thoughts on the sun, tanning salons, and whether or not the sun is really a bad thing. She showed me how a research paper can be used to explore a topic that is interesting to the writer. In my essay I want to choose my topic on something that I am really curious about like Brown.
Holmquist had a very interesting topic and one that was obviously very important to him. Being a drug user and exploring the danger of drugs must have brought back some memories for him, but he was able to focus on how the three party drugs affect the mind and the body. "Most users view party drugs as being safe." (Holmquist B26) He discovered how he was putting himself in danger and was able to tie personal experience in with his research. His sources help him show how these drugs make you feel and how they have bad affects. For instance, ecstasy also known as MDMA " has become popular because of its ability to create companionship and attachment for young people who are seeking, but feel weak to ties to society." (Holmquist B26; Pederson 1704) Who wouldn't want to love and be more open to people? Maybe if people knew that it is possible to "get overheated and if not treated immediately death is possible," (Holmquist B28; Boot 2000) they would think twice before using it. He also explores the use of LSD and GHB and their affects. A lot of personal experience led to the topic of this essay. "What would make these people feel so passionately about their pro- or anti-drug views? Is something that the government finds harmful, yet so many people say is harmless, really that bad for you?" (Holmquist B24) I think that these questions sparked Holmquist's discovery essay. In my essay I hope that I can relate personal experience to my sources as well as Holmquist and I think his writing style will influence how I write my paper. I like how he starts with a personal experience of using drugs and then dove into the topic of why people use these drugs and how they are bad for you. He used many sources, more than the usual four.
Both essays use many of Ballenger's suggestions and have shown me how a research paper can be used to explain personal curiosity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)