Definitions- sunshine2818

Posted on October 14, 2020 by sunshine2818

The second amendment written by our founding fathers states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed”. Although our founding fathers were brilliant in their own right. The constitution was written over 200 years ago, that’s a pretty old piece of paper. Unless our founding fathers had the ability to time travel, they couldn’t have possibly foreseen all of the issues we would be dealing with today. In the world we live in now, we are subjected to uphold the constitution even though we are dealing with different and real problems that have not previously been thought of. 

The technological advancement of guns in this day and age is superb to 200 years ago. Originally the second amendment was used for people to protect themselves against the government, in case the government were to become hostile. The idea of people trying to protect themselves from the government would be like asking a Pee Wee football team to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Although most people tend to root for the underdog, the result wouldn’t be so good. Guns in this day and age contain semi and automatic guns. Most journalists and politicians refer to Semi and automatic guns as assault weapons.  In an article by Just Facts “Supporters of gun rights generally object to describing semi-automatic firearms as ‘assault weapons.’ Instead, they call them ‘modern sporting rifles’ or by their styles and models, such as AR-15”. Regardless of the preferred term, guns such as AR-15s are legal to purchase in the United states. These are the same type of guns that are used for military use, while also have become more popular in recent years for mass shooting.   

There are more guns in America than there are people. That is enough for every man, woman and child. However only 40 percent of Americans are gun owners, which probably means there are a few of us hunkering down,  getting ready for the next apocalypse. If Americans are not hunting or heading to the shooting range most of them purchase guns for protection. The logic is a good guy with a gun would beat a bad guy with a gun, but we do not live in the wild west, and this isn’t a Clint Eastwood movie. In an article by NPR “The United States average gun violence per 100,000 people is 4.43 percent”. We are ranked number 28th in the world with the percentage of gun violence per 100,000 peeple. Also consider that the United States is a developed and wealthy country. When compared to other countries who match our development we stick out like a very sore thumb. The NPR article stated “Prosperous Asian countries such as Singapore and Japan boast the absolute lowest rates, though the United Kingdom and Germany are in almost as good shape”. In countries like the United kingdom their rate is .06; Japan, 0.04; South Korea, 0.05; and Iceland, 0.07. In all of these counties gun usage is less common among the people, but they are still safer compared to United States citizens. This means that guns may actually be more dangerous than they are safe.   

In a look at different states, some have stronger gun control laws than others. In an article by the Violence policy center, it was mentioned, states with the highest rates of gun violence also have been correlated to have the most gun violence incidents. States like Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, Missouri and Louisiana have rates going from 22.80 gun deaths per 100,000 to 21.27. In contrast the states with the more intense laws have the lowest gun violence deaths. States like Rhode island, Massesttucetts, Hawaii, New York, and New Jersey have stats going from 3.50 to 4.71. If gun control has already proven to be effective to minimize gun violence, then eliminating guns entirely from the public could minimize gun violence even more.     

Politically, as to why Americans have higher rates of gun violence, the democaratic party and republican party tend to differ. An article, by William A. Galston and Clara Hendrickson cited “Democrats are substantially more likely than Republicans to cite factors such as access to guns, anti-immigrant sentiments, and the rise of white nationalism, while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to cite inadequate parenting and violent video games”. All of these issues may very well be valid, they could all be right, but if access to guns were eliminated from the public population, we can assure that Americans will be safer. 

Imagine a world with no guns, I’m sure rates of knife stabbing would go up, but the ease of killing someone with a gun would be gone. Maybe we would have to hunt with bows and arrows, but who wouldn’t want to be like Katniss Everdeen. Accidental shootings would go down, so maybe hospitals would thank us. And if someone missed their hobby of going to a gun range, maybe they could pick up knife throwing, you never know until you try. 

References

Martinellie, S. (2020, February 24). States with Weak Gun Laws and Higher Gun Ownership Lead Nation in Gun Deaths, New Data for 2018 Confirms. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://vpc.org/press/states-with-weak-gun-laws-and-higher-gun-ownership-lead-nation-in-gun-deaths-new-data-for-2018-confirms/

Galston, W., & Hendrickson, C. (2019, August 22). Getting beyond the myths: What Americans really think about mass shootings and gun legislation. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2019/08/22/what-americans-really-think-about-mass-shootings-and-gun-legislation/

Agresti, J. D., Smith, R. K. & Reynolds, W. T. (2020, October 9). Gun Control Facts. Just Facts. Retrieved October 12, 2020 from www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp

Aizenman, N., & Silver, M. (2019, August 05). How The U.S. Compares With Other Countries In Deaths From Gun Violence. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/08/05/743579605/how-the-u-s-compares-to-other-countries-in-deaths-from-gun-violence

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My White Paper—Goldin92

Posted on October 13, 2020 by goldin92

Working Hypothesis 1- Creating an education system that benefits people of all natures, making students that never wanted to learn and study material that didn’t matter to their personal success enjoy learning, as the new system would create opportunity for all types of people, not just looking to become a doctor, accountant, etc.

Working Hypothesis 2- Forcing schools to begin to teach students about bank accounts, credit, various different fields other than being enclosed in just science, writing, math, etc. This would create a surplus of more money hungry, self driven, enthused student base across the entire country, as students would be able to choose what they want to learn and how they want to implement it in their life instead of being forced to do work just for a letter grade. This will give the opportunity for teachers to show their passion and knowledge for their professions, influencing loads of students that never knew they had a love for what they were being taught.

Purposeful Summaries of 5 Sources:

  1. https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/winter-2018/teachers-perspective-whats-wrong-our-schools

A Teacher’s Perspective on What’s Wrong with Our Schools. (2018, February 08). Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.cato.org/cato-journal/winter-2018/teachers-perspective-whats-wrong-our-schools

The first idea i thought would be the most important is to see how actual teachers and professors feel about this situation. Teachers understand this, and they understand how students feel about taking courses they don’t think they need to for their relevant futures. As said in the article, “Students frequently cut corners for the sake of some short‐​term gain. If they thought that the rewards were high enough, students violated rules that they would not have violated otherwise”. Lots of teachers don’t teach students some material, as in NY for example, its stated, “A teacher in the same school pointed out that he did not teach history because it did not help his students pass the New York State Regents examination in social studies”. Another problem which teachers acknowledge in public schools is that they aren’t experts in the subjects that they teach. Although it isn’t the main issue, it demotivates students to learn, only focusing on the grade instead of learning and wanting to learn the material.

2. https://edsurgeindependent.com/how-can-we-change-the-education-system-as-we-know-5ed6dd7ca9f1

Ngo, E. (2018, December 28). How can we change the education system as we know? Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://edsurgeindependent.com/how-can-we-change-the-education-system-as-we-know-5ed6dd7ca9f1

This is kind of someones professional opinion, as it explains what advances and what could change the education system for the better, instead of making it a solely a competition based system, to make it a competitive system that gives opportunities for students to be passionate about what they learn. The author quotes,” It was not until I prepared for my US college application, when I was asked about my non-academic interests, that I realized all I knew (and cared about) was getting good grades: I no longer read books, rarely cared about news, and hardly inquired about the world around me. And despite having some academic achievements, I possessed too few useful skills — skills that are necessary for one to succeed in life such as critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making, and social skills”. This shows one of the biggest problems in education systems today, as he had few skills for his future even tho he had good grades and possessed all he needed to know for the future of his education, bit he didn’t know the right decision making and logic problem solving to get himself in check.

3. https://edsource.org/2019/grades-must-reflect-mastery-not-just-effort/609236

Commentaries, E. (2019, March 10). COMMENTARY: Grades must reflect mastery, not just effort. Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://edsource.org/2019/grades-must-reflect-mastery-not-just-effort/609236

In this article, the main focus is that grades reflect mastery, not just effort. This argument kind of rebuttals my hypothesis, showing that these grading systems are the right solution and should remain in the system. In the post, the author states, ” Students’ grades on assignments and report cards too often are based on the effort they make in class, not the mastery of what they need to learn by a given grade”. This is one of the leading arguments for making it an equal system, as most strict professors and teachers do not give grades if the work isn’t optimal and isn’t what the assignment was described, which ruins the dedication and the enthusiasm for actually learning the material. Even if college professors were generous with this, it would still be wrong, as the students need to be taking the courses they need to learn in order to succeed in life and in their career paths, as taking courses that don’t have any affect on the students future and is just a letter grade is wrong, and could put the student into a harmful position.

4. https://hechingerreport.org/why-do-schools-use-grades-that-teach-nothing/

Lash, J. (2020, March 30). Why do schools use grades that teach nothing? Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://hechingerreport.org/why-do-schools-use-grades-that-teach-nothing/

This article explains the reasoning behind grading, and how actual students react to it. The author quotes, “Grades tell students the absolute minimum about their abilities; they tell them only whether they have earned enough points under a teacher’s rubric to get a good mark.” This means that the students aren’t learning for the sake of learning, they are learning for a good mark on their report cards, sort of like labels. They stated that this one teaching at a large state university, reported feeling appalled by the number of students who want to do the bare minimum with the goal just to pass. They explain that they need to create “evaluations” for students, give them goals and rewards that encourage them to learn even if they can’t get the hang of the subject. Rewards are not only letter grades, is what the education system gets wrong. There needs to be an even exchange of effort and reward, creating a system where everyone has an incentive to become successful.

5. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190723104114.htm

Teacher incentive programs can improve student achievement. (2019, July 23). Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190723104114.htm

This article shows different ways that teachers can change their school environment to give incentives for students to achieve their goals. This is useful, as teachers can get compensation for how well their students do, which promote them to teach the best that they can, every year improving. This article gives an example of a program that changes the curriculum of the school, changing the way teachers teach in the school. The author states that, “Clusters of less experienced teachers meet daily with highly skilled teachers to learn new instructional strategies and receive individual coaching”. This shows that as teachers learn new ways to engage the students, they are coached by the best teachers. Usually, this isn’t the case, as a lot of low income communities don’t have the best education, and simply don’t have the money to get the best education, especially for the teachers, not just the students.

After doing my research for Hypothesis 1, i transformed from a very enclosed and narrow view of my vision of advancing the education system to a more professional stance, as its not just how the students view the work, its how their role models and experts as teachers exhibit their passion for the work as well, as some of the best teachers inspire students to learn and prosper from their own knowledge. This is what got me to my second hypothesis, as i realized that students can learn and become passionate not only from their basic knowledge, but from the teachers themselves, which is where it will create more driven students in our country. Once students have all the options and all of the reasons to learn, not just for the letter grade, they will start to experiment and work outside their own box, which is the innovation schools and students need to advance and become successful.

Posted in Goldin92, White Paper | 2 Comments

Visual Rhetoric- oaktree1234

Posted on October 13, 2020 by oaktree1234

PROFESSOR NOTE:

Oaktree starts with a very strong first set of notes that blend keen visual descriptions with visual analysis.

I respond with detailed observations about the first :01.
Please review before you post your own Visual Rhetoric draft.

0:01-0:02 The ad begins with a close up of a dinner plate that appears to be only half finished. We can assume the meal being eaten is dinner since the plate has peas, macaroni and possibly chicken on it. The room is very dim implying that it’s later in the day. The half-drank glass of milk next to the plate shakes just slightly as if a door was just slammed. A crumpled up napkin sits alongside the plate as if someone had thrown it down in a hurry. It appears that this plate is not located in a restaurant, rather a home. The worn, wooded table, simplistic silverware, and smorgasbord of foods on the plate imply this is a casual home cooked meal. This scene automatically appeals to the pathos of the viewer since it’s a comfortable, familiar setting. 

0:03- 0:13 The camera pans to a middle aged man sitting at the same table that the unattended plate was on. He appears to be a working man, dressed in a shirt and tie. The fridge behind him is covered with cards, calendars, sticky notes, and artwork, implying that this man most likely has children. We never see another parental figure in the clip implying this man could be a single father. The man glances upward with an irritated expression on his face. The direction of his gaze seems to point to the ceiling or top corner of the room. He then glances back down at his plate only before quickly glancing back upwards towards what perhaps could be the upstairs of his house. The man winces as if a loud or startling sound just occurred. He clenches his jaw and looks away with a distressed expression. He looks off into the upward direction of the room one more time and lets out a deep sigh. By creating this visual of a working class man raising children on his own, they are appealing to the viewer’s ethos. Who’s more trustworthy than a hard working single father?

0:14- 0:21 The camera pans backwards revealing the entire table the man is sitting at and more of the room. We see that the man is in what appears to be a middle class home; no lavish furniture or appliances. The man is again looking up at what we assume to be the upstairs of the house. He utters only a couple words while still looking in this direction. At 0:16 the words “Never stop being a dad.” appear on the screen, implying the other individual is his child. He then slowly lowers his gaze until a notification on his phone pulls his attention back to the table and he grabs his phone. The careful selection of scenery adds to the ethos appeal. By demonstrating that this man lives an average, middle class lifestyle, he is instantly more relatable and seems credible. The pathos of the viewer are also targeted through the text on screen. A vast majority of viewers either are a father figure to someone else or have a father figure in their lives. The impact of “never stop being a dad” is that the viewer is forced to imagine either not having their father figure in their lives or no longer being that figure to someone else.

0:22-0:23 The screen pans to a close up of a text message conversation. The most recent incoming text message reads: *heart icon* U 2. This response indicates that the man was previously telling his child he loved them. This short clip automatically appeals to pathos by demonstrating the bond between a father and child. 

0:24-31 The camera pans back to the man’s face. After reading this heartfelt text message, he appears to look relieved, much different than the beginning of the clip. He shakes his head as a subtle smirk creeps across his face. He pops what appears to be a french fry in his mouth and continues to shake his head as he chews. Finally he glances back up to the upstairs of the house, where we assume his child has been residing. This scene is relatable to parents as well as children. The ad suggests that although being a father isn’t always easy, it’s well worth it.

Posted in oaktree, Visual Rhetoric | 2 Comments

My Hypothesis—Goldin92

Posted on October 13, 2020 by goldin92
  1. Education System
  2. Education system misjudges students for their futures
  3. Extensive classes required for students to take sets them back that they won’t use in the future
  4. Tutoring, “hands on” help from teachers allow curious and goal thriving students to succeed in classes they don’t enjoy taking, helping them have a clearer future to take the courses and learn the material they want
  5. Teachers, Tutors, Advisors, all dependent on the students future making it in their desired careers all take in account, even if the student struggles in a subject that isn’t going to help him succeed in his endeavors , is all dependent on the ones teaching him/her and grading his/ her work

Posted in Goldin92, My Hypothesis | 1 Comment

Visual rhetoric assignment- 612119

Posted on October 13, 2020 by 612119d

Visual  rhetoric assignment

0-5 seconds

A man opens up a door to see a huge wild about to burn down his home which his family lives in.In the next scene it’s a flash flood when you open the door and in the last scene it happens to be an earthquake. SInce all of this is happening I would say its pathos since these things could destroy

6-11 seconds The dad closes the doors on the natural disasters.The dad ends up sitting with his family at the kitchen table. 

11-17 seconds

 It was Showing us to go too there website so potentially save your family’s life in case of a disaster.They’re telling you it gives you tools and tips  and help set up a plan in case of one of these natural disasters. I would say this is pathos as well because you don’t want to be the reason your family dies So it’s apealing to your emotion.

17-20 seconds

There’s a knock at the door but no one panicked because they do have a plan in case something were to happen.The family has a few bags and prepares them since they think of disasters on the way. The dad goes to get the door. I would say this is logos because it’s a rational decision and everyone should be making it.

20-25 seconds

The family opens up the door and it’s just a pizza man delivering the pizza. The pizza man is wearing a mask because of the pandemic that’s going on at the moment so is the rest of the family so they’re being very responsible. I would say this is pathos cuz it’s an appealing to your emotion by just having the pizza man at the door and being relieved

25-30 seconds

 the last bit of it is more just telling you to make a plan again and stressing how important it is and where to go so you can make that plan. It gives the website information again, plus States what other organizations back it.  

Posted in 612119d, Visual Rhetoric | 1 Comment

Visual Rhetoric-rowanstudent24

Posted on October 13, 2020 by rowanstudent24

0:00-0:05

In the first 5 seconds we see a man a very young girl playing with a ball on a beach. It looks to be a dad and his young daughter. The dad kicks the ball up in the air very lightly so that the daughter is able to catch it. It seems very clear that the daughter is very happy which is a demonstration of pathos.

0:06-0:10

It continues to show clips of fathers and daughters playing catch. They all seem to be caring and watching out for their daughters as they play catch with them. I think that helps contribute to their argument in some way.

0:11-0:15

The video continues to show clips of dads and daughters playing catch, however, it seems that the director is showing older girls. I believe he is trying to show that each father is continuing to care for the daughter the older they get.

0:16-0:20

In these couple seconds it shows older girls and how the dads are still caring for them and helping them. The last clips shows a dad as he is the catcher for his daughter who is a softball pitcher. He is trying to help her get better and encouraging her it seems like since she is smiling after she throws the pitch. This demonstrates pathos as well because the daughter is smiling.

0:21-0:25

In the final clip it shows an older dad throwing a football pretty far to a younger girl. This could be a grand father throwing to his grand daughter. It seems that by the end of all these clips the fathers and grandfathers are trusting the daughters and grand daughters a little more than at the beginning of the video. In the beginning it showed that the fathers were taking it a little easier on the young girls when throwing the ball. Towards the end though it shows that the father figures trust the girls to catch it and don’t hold back.

0:26-0:30

Finally in the last five seconds, it states that it only takes a moment to make a moment which seems to be the directors point of this video. These father figures all took time out of their busy schedule to make sure they spent some time with their daughters. They made sure they were there for them all the time whether they needed help or just wanted to spend some time with their dads.

Posted in rowanstudent24, Visual Rhetoric | 1 Comment

Safer Saws — SmilingDogTheProfWants

Posted on October 13, 2020 by SmilingDogTheProfWants

PROFESSOR NOTE

Smiling Dog’s post here is extraordinarily good.
Before you publish your own Safer Saws post, you would be wise to read both this post and your beloved professor’s feedback.

  1. Manufacturers: “the mechanism for stopping the blade is much different between the two saws” This is an effort at claiming that the safety devices on the saws are different. This is an Analogy claim, as it claims that only the mechanism for stopping the blade is different and nothing else. Although the point of Bosch’s version is to not destroy the blade the technology is exactly the same and definitely violates the patent as the means of stopping the saw is the byproduct of the sensor that tells the mechanism to stop.
  2. Customers: In a quick video demo we see, without any words, a factual claim that shows that this product works undeniably and in one of the worst case scenarios you will get a scratch that barely bleeds. The customer can easily see this video and say to themselves as an active user that this is the safest and best invention on the market for this product and is well worth the money and may even make it easier for others to explore using the tool with no prior experience.
  3. Industry Spokespeople:  “a fan of your fingers” is an evaluative claim that performs the simple task of getting you to say “yes I do happen to be a fan of keeping them,” and so you now feel that if you’re in the market (or maybe just want the benefit of not losing a finger) for a SawStop saw. This implies that other saws will lead to you losing your fingers if you don’t own this version of the product.
  4. Consumer Safety Advocates: “The closest parallel we can find to a story like this is that of a seatbelt” This is an evaluative claim that aims to inform the reader that in terms of saw blades this is the safest you can get for right now. The only evidence is the continued lack of injury using the SawStop over other table saws/blades and the immediate violation of a patent when trying to replicate the idea of the saw stop by Bosch.
  5. Injured Plaintiffs: “Saws Cut Off 4,000 Fingers a Year.” and the industries refuse to create new and more safety measures. This is a numerical claim that provides the reader with the estimated preventable injuries caused by a product that has been made safer by other producers. All of those people probably wish they had a SawStop the day it happened, as long as they value their finger that is.
  6. Personal Injury Lawyers: “for more than a decade” this tells the audience the technology to prevent you from losing a finger has existed for a very long time, people having lost a cumulative of a few 10 thousand fingers to a preventable situation as a result of profiting by the big corporations. This is an ethical claim as though the device works near perfect now it’s obvious that it would still take time to develop, but regardless of it the company with the money and means to produce it have refused to do it, costing their consumers their fingers over a $60 replacement blade.
  7. Government Officials: “Power tool industry too powerful to regulate.” Despite the obvious good of not having people cut off their fingers the government cannot alter the large corporation’s production or now hazardous product. This is an evaluative claim because although it is a universal good not to lose a finger the industry is too strong to change their stubborn ideals so hastily. This statement also implies that it is up to the consumer to make the change because if the company won’t change then the people have to stop buying their products and start buying from other companies safe products.
  8. News Reporters: “Bosch has officially entered the limb-saving table saw market.” This is a result of Bosch releasing his own version of the SawStop that was withheld due to a patent conflict with their competitor. This is an evaluative claim as the reporter says that Bosch has officially entered, implying he wasn’t in it or didn’t care about it before. And the limb-saving table saw market isn’t a real market and is simply meant to persuade you into buying the product or boosting your image of Bosch in your head and making you want to buy the product more.
Posted in Safer Saws, SmilingDogTheProfWants | 1 Comment

Definition-shawdowswife

Posted on October 12, 2020 by shadowswife

Cultural Appropriation vs Cultural Appreciation

During the present day, people from around the world have been more vigilant when it comes to identifying the factors that are being appropriated by other cultures. These factors include concepts in music, a person’s preference in fashion, and the food someone eats, and the language someone speaks. With all of these factors in mind, one would ask, “how can you distinguish the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation?” The difference between appropriation and appreciation are difficult to identify because there is a thin line of distinction between both terms. With this in mind, there are numerous cultures that have adopted other cultures’ behaviors and standards and made it their own without proper appreciation. This leads to the concept of cultural appropriation, which lends to the idea of adoption or theft of other people’s ideas and cultural norms. However, with society becoming more aware and sensitive to the topic of cultural appropriation, it is frequent that many would misinterpret someone’s genuine intentions to show their love and respect for a culture they are not part of. People should be more aware and cautious about the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation because the appropriation of another culture’s rituals without acknowledgment can be misconstrued as insensitive.

Cultural appropriation is the ignorance or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas from other marginalized groups, particularly groups who have even less social or economic power with the purpose of exploiting the culture for economic or social gain, provides the premise for a deeper dive into an oppressed societal structure, unfair practices in economic gains and cultural exploitation. Further, the literature suggests that the appropriation of culture has led to inaccurate depictions of cultures, negative stereotypes, and plagiarism of popular culture and music without attribution. The concept of appropriation and the misuse of power in societal and economic realms have contributed to increasing conflict within cultural subsets. This, in turn, not only undermines cultural relevance, but it is exploitative of subordinated groups.

Cultural exploitation denotes the taking of elements of an oppressed society by a dominant culture without equal exchange, consent, and/or remuneration. In instances in which cultural exploitation is evident, the lack of choice or control is prominent. Often, the dominant political strength and economic influence render the sending culture powerless. Governments utilize their power to subjugate oppressed societies into submission, such as imposing organized religion on ethnic groups who otherwise may not have subscribed to the dominant culture religious viewpoints. Cultural exploitation can be further observed in current social occurrences as well. As racial tensions continue to escalate in modern society, cultural exploitation permeates in music and fashion. Lyrics and genres, such as hip hop, have met with controversy and hostility. Hip-hop artists, writers, and producers continue to combat the challenges of foreign companies’ misuse of the genre for economic gain without appropriate attribution or respect. Western artists have been confronted with similar practices as well. Kylie Jenner is presented as a controversial figure in cultural appropriation. In her depiction of style box braids, she was perceived by many as trendy and fashionable. However, others deemed her actions irresponsible and exploitative. Her actions were deemed as cultural appropriation as she physically depicted black culture. Box braids are traditional African hairstyles that protect women’s hair from damage. Although aspects of black culture, such as box braid, may be deemed negatively and criticized in this scenario, Jenner is celebrated and admired. Therefore, exploiting culturally significant customs. Artists are seen in many instances as role models with societal responsibility. Kylie Jenner represents a majority whose actions may be construed as a premise of lack of social consciousness. Therefore, rendering those ethnic minorities who place cultural significance to their way of expressing their beauty have no voice in protecting elements of their culture due to the dominance of other dominant societies.

Music has a cultural significance in black culture. African Americans are credited in developing not only hip hop but also jazz, blues, and rock and roll. However, during 1930-1970, White artists adopted these music traditions that were deemed unsavory and became wealthy in a still segregated society. African Americans had limited recourse in combating cultural dominance in a Jim Crow America. Cultural dominance, the utilization of components of the prevailing culture by members of a dominant culture in a context in which the dominant culture has been imposed on by the subordinated society, including appropriations that sanction opposition. For many years artists such as Muddy Waters, Skip James, and Howlin’ Wolf struggled to gain success for their significant contributions to the music industry. Eventually, they were recognized for their achievements but never to the level of their White counterparts who appropriated black music.

Despite controversy and inequities which continue to persist, there also is a movement promoting inclusivity, respect, and understanding of other cultures. Education is crucial in comprehending the differences in appropriation and appreciation. In appreciating cultural or cultural appreciation, one honors, and values another culture and its customs as a way to gain awareness and respect. Whereas if your practices or use of cultural items exploits another culture or reaps economic gain may be perceived as appropriation. Misuse of items such as chopsticks other than for eating can be deemed as appropriation. Cultural appreciation allows for deep-rooted respect. In instances where there is a genuineness to appreciate other ethnic groups, asking permission to use cultural things, utilizing the object specifically as they are intending, researching the culture, asking questions, and acknowledging your limitations in knowing the culture. As an invited guest at a Muslim wedding, researching social norms prior to attending will guide in following cultural attire and the customs in a respectful manner. Appropriation occurs when members of one culture adopt an aspect of another culture without attribution. Often appropriation occurs from a dominated society that takes from marginalized communities. However, fostering an environment of inclusivity in which a genuine desire to listen, to learn, respect, and to provide equitable remuneration could afford opportunities for dialogue and cultural awareness.

References:

Cultural Appropriation [PDF]. (n.d.). https://bento.cdn.pbs.org/hostedbento-prod/filer_public/whatihear/9-Cultural_Approp-Viewing_Guide.pdf

Rogers, R. (2006, November). From Cultural Exchange to Transculturation: A Review and Reconceptualization of Cultural Appropriation. Communication Theory, 16(4), 474–503. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00277.x

Han, H. (2019). Moving From Cultural Appropriation to Cultural Appreciation. Art Education (Reston), 72(2), 8–13. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2019.1559575

Posted in Definition Categorical, Portfolio ShadowsWife, shadowswife | 3 Comments

Definition- clementine

Posted on October 12, 2020 by clementine102

The Reality of Having a Third Trimester Abortion

All people could agree that one of mankind’s top priorities in life is to maintain a great quality of life, meaning to be able to enjoy life’s events, be healthy, and comfortable. Many citizens of different countries could have their own definition of their own quality of life based on the culture that they live in in their country. When talking about the moral issue of abortion, woman could say their decision to have an abortion could affects their quality of life. According to Understanding Abortion: From Mixed Feelings to Rational Thought, woman who believe that abortion does not violate any morals, feel as though having an abortion causes you to have a better quality of life than if you were to give birth. However, one’s quality of life is diminished if they choose to have an abortion rather than carrying the baby for all three trimesters and giving birth. There is a huge misconception that abortion during the third trimester is ok and harmless, when in reality, getting an abortion in the third trimester is super gruesome and hard. 

Society has taught many young women, especially those of the left, that woman should feel empowered by our right to be able to get an abortion during our third trimester. They support abortion so much that they always have left me with the impression that abortion was positive and all great. Abortion-rights advocates have stated that abortions after 20 weeks in the womb are performed because of health complications or lethal baby anomalies discovered late in the pregnancy.  However, data from the medical literature and late-term abortion providers, some planned parenthoods, indicates that most of these procedures are not performed for these reasons. It is usually done to woman because the baby would have affected relationships status’ and work related status. 

Therefore, for some woman, abortion works out for them in the long run, but you cannot deny the fact the possible trauma woman go through while actually having it done. Abortions that are performed after 20 weeks of being in the womb, when not done by induction of labor (which leads to fetal death due to prematurity), are performed by having the woman go through the “Dilation and Evacuation” procedure. These gruesome and horrid surgical techniques include crushing, removal, and dismantlement of a fetus from a woman’s uterus, weeks before, or after the fetus reaches the developmental age where they could survive without the mother according to The Reality of Late-Term Abortion Procedures. In some cases, especially when the fetus is past the stage of being healthy enough to live on its own, late term abortion may involve the lethal injection into the fetus’ heart to ensure that the fetus is alive when it is pulled out or has the ability to survive. That means that without a lethal injection, when the baby is taken out of the woman’s vagina, it has a possibility of surviving. However, according to E. Johnson, that is very rare. This means that when the fetus is extracted from the women’s vagina, there could be developed parts of the baby that the mother herself could see. This can be fairly traumatic if the women are not informed that there is a possibility for her to see a dismantled baby. Especially since it could have been her own. 

A 35 year old woman named Elizabeth had to go through an abortion at 32 weeks because her baby had complications. In the interview reported by Jezebel, she explained that since the fetus was so developed, they had to inject a lethal injection inside the baby. Once the abortion-doctor had done that, she had contractions and had to push what was left of the baby out of her vagina. 

“It was a delivery. I felt every body part coming out. I felt the whole thing.”

            She also states in the interview that it was horrific for her to do that since she knew she was giving birth to a dead child. She said it was painful not just physically but mentally. Like she said, having a late term abortion is traumatic and no where near being “easy”.

To continue, there are so many other complications that you can get from this procedure that you wouldn’t have if you gave birth to the child. These complications include:

  1. Spontaneous rupture of membranes 
  2. Onset of labor and fetal expulsion before surgery
  3. Dilators migrate into uterine cavity
  4. Allergic reaction
  5. Toxic Shock Syndrome
  6. Uterine hemorrhage
  7. Perforation of the uterus
  8. Tissue remaining in the uterus (incomplete abortion)
  9. Injury to the bowl or bladder
  10. Scar tissue in uterus or cervix
  11. Placenta Previa in future pregnancies
  12. Infertility due to the consequences of infection or damage to cervix
  13. Pulmonary Embolism
  14. Amniotic Fluid Embolism

Woman are not informed on the matter of late-term abortion and how you can contract many mental health issues and physical effects on the body. Giving birth instead of getting an abortion is a much safer route because most of the time, natural childbearing does not cause PTSD, or any other physical issues compared to having an abortion according to Understanding Abortion. Having the fetus’ body parts ripped out of your uterus according to Elizabeth’s story seemed so real and gruesome that it is so hard not to picture. No woman going into an abortion should think that the process is easy and will be fast. The effects of an abortion out run the procedure itself. Based on this information, woman will have no choice but to not think about the consequences and experience of this procedure. Many pro life supporters would probably tell you to just practice abstinence, but if that isn’t an option and you become pregnant, all of this information should lead you to conclude that giving birth while putting the baby up for adoption is a strong alternative to having an abortion. All of this to say that abortion is not as easy and positive as some people may say it. 

References

Johnson, E. A. (2015, January 20). The Reality of Late-Term Abortion Procedures. Charlotte Lozier Institute. https://lozierinstitute.org/the-reality-of-late-term-abortion-procedures/

Schwarz, Stephen D, Stephen D Schwarz, and Kiki Latimerm. Understanding Abortion: From Mixed Feelings to Rational Thought. Lanham, MD: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2012. Print.

Tolentino, J. (2019, January 22). Interview With a Woman Who Recently Had an Abortion at 32 Weeks. Jezebel. https://jezebel.com/interview-with-a-woman-who-recently-had-an-abortion-at-1781972395

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Definition – bluntwriting88

Posted on October 12, 2020 by bluntwriting88

In physics and engineering, stability is referred to a trend of a system which returns or tends to its normal value. Instability is when slight changes cause a large change in the system. In historical terms destabilization is a recurring theme in terms of societal collapses. If an unstable system is destabilized, then disaster promptly follows. Modern American society in this technological sense is very unstable, though this also has a social component. Many simple examples exist to illustrate America’s instability. Our water systems, road systems, internet (and thereby a plethora of other dependent systems such as food supply, which includes digital refrigeration), and medical, just to name a few, are unstable in their current national linking and design. In investigating instability, only a small change in few or one of the variables is necessary to see a significant result. A disruption due to war or terrorism are few of many very possibly disruptions which can lead to national life support system failure. Many may define the U.S. as the most powerful complex interconnected system operating on a global scale. However, when viewing from a technological stance, the U.S. is behind in terms of secondary ‘back ups’ and infrastructure. The consequences for this may prove to be disastrous in the future.

 Much study has been done to show the modeled outcomes of an EMP over the United States, disabling all electronics and thereby all the national life support systems. Anything such as laptops, phones, banking, and thermostats would be rendered obsolete. Much of this is due to archaic, decaying, or inadequate technological infrastructure pervading many of the life support systems in America. The systems are unstable as they cannot withstand an attack or disruption on a mass-scale. All the devices which we use on a constant basis to survive are one bomb in the sky away from becoming fancy pieces of metal. Power outages from simple storms can result in loss of power and anxiety for days on end. The real possibility of an EMP attack would be a storm power outage scenario but orders of magnitude higher in severity.

 Unimaginable consequences would occur simply from large scale loss of the interconnected power grid. Hurricanes and Storms already do an absurd amount of damage yearly. It would not be difficult for an angry foreign power to incapacitate America via technological (or biological) means. As our lives are dependent and built around receiving power and powering all of our means of sustenance, it is clear to see the very fine line we live on at all times. The line is fine and unstable the same reason a tightrope walker is unstable when performing his act. And that is that there is no other balance point or safety net. In its current state, America’s technological infrastructure does not have a safety net if it were to be specifically targeted. The result of being on such a fine line is that the regular lives of Americans can cleverly be ‘powered off’ completely with no alternative or backup mechanism.

What is worse is that the economy is digitized, leaving it vulnerable along with our power grid. Such is our technological infrastructure when it is coupled. A collapse in the dollar would be a collapse of society as we know it. This is since its digital nature is not backed up and fail-safe’d. This is one major manifestation of an instability. As the saying goes, money is what makes the world go round. It is almost trivial and unnoticeable to many the dependence of money on technological power (as the financial system is all digital). This is akin to vital organs being interdependent on one another. But unlike the body has protective features to maintain homeostasis, the interdependent systems in America do not have a developed protection backup and that is what makes it very unstable. The very basis of American hegemony rests upon the economy and the value of the dollar. Not only that, but also the means for the population to acquire its resources lies on a very thin line. It is not impossible for such a vital collapse to occur. If it were, society would devolve in a state of pure destruction and anarchy, with citizens left to fend for themselves and somehow – without power – attempt to acquire their resources against competition, like something out of Mad Max.

Societal disruption also has demonstrably shown its chaotic effects and thereby an inherent societal instability, which partly has roots in technological instability. The American reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic produced a significant economic disruption, particularly in unemployment numbers. As a chaotic response ensued the pandemic, it is clear to see American health and bureaucratic institutions were not armed or prepared to tackle the pandemic in a less chaotic fashion – an instability. With any disruption it is reasonable to expect some negative feedback and resistance. However, when America was put to the test, a large destabilization in employment ensued. Many other nations did not experience the deep negative impacts of the pandemic as America did, “The unemployment rate in May might have been as high as 16% by the U.S. Government’s estimate” compared to the U.K.’s 4.1%. Preparedness is stability, and instability is chaos.

Stability is preparedness. Against an EMP, or a health crisis, there is no clear plan for America for those events. Time after time many warnings have been made regarding these types of disasters. There is the problem of funding, as always of course. However, the cost of unemployment and lack of food is far greater in terms of its impacts. By example America does not possess coordinated plans of action for many vital systems pertinent to the survival of the whole population.

With many other developed nations investing and developing for preparedness and the future, a comparison can be made with America. America, for most of its vital systems which run the machine, instead of preparing and resolving current instabilities in its techno-social structure, has to focus on maintaining the tightrope walk between proper function and impending disaster.

References

Kochhar, R. (2020, August 26). Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than it did in two years of the Great Recession. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/

McAlvany, D. (2020, September 14). What Would Happen if an EMP Attack were Made on America? Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.nordskogpublishing.com/what-would-happen-if-an-emp-attack-were-made-on-america/

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