Research Presentations

The semester of Fall 2016 is almost over, and of course that means presentations. Presentations are usually pretty scary, and without a doubt I saw good and bad presentations. When giving a presentations the presenter should know what they are talking about; they should speak up and focus on the audience. Sadly, there where bad presentations given. People were reading off of the slides, people were saying "um" too much, and some did not know what they were talking about. I am no excuse; I usually freak out when I have to present, but we all shared our research with the class.

Why Online Education Benefits Students

Many colleges and universities have instituted online education programs. These programs are the best way to lure in new students who are looking for flexibility and convenience. If colleges are going to meet the rising demand for education, they should provide online courses to students. Students from overseas will want to apply to the college because it can help them get a degree for a cheaper price. Colleges should consider students who have full-time jobs and are not able to attend classes. Many students are most likely to choose what is convenient for them.




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Online Eduction

With more and more students taking online courses, both the students and the colleges benefit. For example, students get flexibility while colleges have a way to offer services to students abroad. In addition, online courses help reduce the cost of commuting to school. However, online education does have some disadvantages. For instance, some students might prefer face to face interactions. These problems could be easily solved. First, make hybrid classes so there is interaction between the student and instructor. Second, require an appointment with instructor to make sure students are understanding the material . If these problems are addressed, both students and colleges would benefit because, students get flexibility in their schedules and colleges more students wanting to apply to their campus.


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Opposing Viewpoints: Animal Experimentation

Animal experimentation is a type of animal abuse that has created controversy over the years. The first article, Medical Testing on Animal Is Cruel and Unnecessary, talks about how animal experimentation should not be performed because it does not help human health advancement. They make the argument that animals and humans do not have the same anatomy, so all of the research and findings are not accurate. The author of this article informs us how the disease is literally injected in to the animal so scientists can then cure it; however, the method used to cure the disease on the animal might not be as effective on a human. The animal was perfectly fine before they made it sick, what is the need for this? So they can cure a rat and then try to cure a human using the exact same procedure? The author tell us, "Through their taxes, charitable donations, and purchases of lottery tickets and consumer products, members of the public are ultimately the ones who—knowingly or unknowingly—fund animal experimentation"(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 2014). People all over the country are contributing to this abuse and they don't even know it.

The second article, Medical Research Involving Animals Is Humane and Necessary, talks about how animals help us gather information that will be useful in medicine for both animals and humans. The author of this article makes the argument that animals and humans share sufficient DNA to compare them. They say that there is always a veterinarian during the process to make sure everything goes well, and that MOST methods are not painful. Most is not all, so what about the painful methods? The author ends the article by saying that computers can only give us information that has already been researched (Americans for Medical Progress, 2014). Even though this is true, why can't they try to use other methods to get their information? There are many tests and programs out there that can contribute to research.

Both of these articles address the question of whether Animal Experimentation is necessary. In my opinion, I do not think animal experimentation should be performed for human research because animals and humans are not the same, so why are we killing millions of animals if the experiments fail?  Scientists should find other alternatives that do not require them to harm animals at all.


SOURCES:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Medical Testing on Animals Is Cruel and      Unnecessary." Medical Testing. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Animal Experiments: Overview." 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

Americans for Medical Progress. "Medical Research Involving Animals Is Humane and Necessary." Medical Testing. Ed. Noël Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Animal Research FAQ: The Top 10 Questions." 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.

2016 Presidential Debate #1

On September 29, 2016 the first Presidential Debate took place. The debate was between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Candidate Trump is a businessman and nominee of the Republican party, whereas candidate Clinton is an American politician and nominee for the Democratic party. The topics for this debate where: achieving prosperity, America's direction, and securing America. Personally, the winner of this debate was Hillary Clinton. She used various techniques to convince the people she is the better candidate. Clinton mainly used logos to appeal to her audience. She gave us facts from her website as well as facts from her opponent. Clinton gave us statistics on tax cuts, jobs, and federal budget. She provided her plan which would raise taxes on the wealthy. Clinton had a very good eye contact, body language, and volume control. She also uses ethos because she has been working for the United State's government for many years, meaning that we know she has experience on politics.

Unlike Clinton, Trump said he would cut taxes on corporations to help the economy by providing jobs if the corporations did not go to other countries. He used logos, but not as effective as Clinton. Trump did not argue very well, he had no voice control, he barely allowed Clinton to speak; he was breathing heavily and drinking lots of water. Trump did not have a good posture, he was slouching.

Both of the candidates used logos to prove their arguments. Trump said he would reduce taxes from 35% to 15% for companies. Clinton said she was going to create millions of new jobs. Clinton and Trump kind of went different ways with the questions. Clinton brought up that Trump had not payed taxes and that is why he did not want to release his tax files. Trump sort of confirmed this statement when he replied, "That makes me smart."

The first presidential debate helped us get a better glance at our candidates. Hillary Clinton was well prepared for this debate. She brought up facts and statistics where as Trump's reply to almost everything was, "Wrong." Overall, Clinton was the winner of the first presidential debate for 2016, because she appealed to her audience using logos more effectively than Trump, she had better knowledge of the facts, used good word choice and posture in order to gain American votes.


SOURCE:
washingtonpost.com

Sweatshops

New York Times writer Nicholas D. Kristoff wrote “Where Sweatshops Are a Dream.” Kristoff began his essay by bringing up the labor standards that Barack Obama and team proposed. Kristoff gives us a very vivid imagery of Phnom Penh, and says that there are smoke  clouds, low visibility, and a nasty toxic smell. Kristoff assumes that he has a neutral audience that can be persuaded into promoting sweatshops rather than going against them. His purpose in this essay is to provide a positive outlook on sweatshops. In order to accomplish this, he mainly uses pathos to appeal to his audience. He talked about the 19-year-old woman who was trying to find plastic in the middle of garbage in order to make money. Then he moves on to a woman with a 10-year-old boy, and she wants him to become a factory worker. He also appeals to logos because he provides credibility when he says he live there.

         Kristoff addresses the main argument against his thesis, that is the idea that sweatshops exploit workers with low pay and long hours; nonetheless the poor working conditions. However, he contributes to his argument by saying that these sweatshops provide a better income than selling a can for five cents. Finally, he concludes by making the point that we should not campaign against sweatshops, instead, let’s promote the movement of manufacturing to other countries. Overall, the argument Kristoff makes is effective because sweatshops do provide a job for those who live in poverty.

Violent Media

The visual posted on mediaviolence.org shows a young boy locked onto what appears to be a videogame. The visual includes words that give the understanding that the visual is talking about videogames. The words suggest the top games of 2011. The visual is not effective because it is very dull in a way, there is not enough emotion shown. The kid is basically staring at a screen showing no emotion whatsoever. The main issue being addresed is videogame violence and how the users get very attached to it. The visual does a good representation of this because the kid seems to be extremely focused onto the videogame. I personally agree with this visual even if it isn't much effective showing the purpose. Kids nowadays get very attached to media.