Paragraph Coherence (D)

In Los Angeles the use of dogs in the police force has been rejected, even though the benefits of using dogs is impressive. Dogs served as the preferred alternative to excessive force around houseing developments off campus for students attending the University of California Los Angeles. At UCLA, canines were first introduced in 1979 to aid University Officers in protecting the safety of students frorm nearby gangs. The purpose of canines in the police force is to provide an alternative to excessive and deadly force. Although suspects have claimed to be badly bitten, these cases are extremely rare compared to the many documented good deeds and rescues involving human lives performed by police canines. It has been concluded by the 6th Circuit Court tha, "since deaths are rare in police dog cases, deploying dogs cannot be condemned as deadly force" (Savage para. 12).

Paragraph Coherence (C)

Online chat rooms have also become a great source to use in the classroom. Chat rooms are very effective resources because they have even allowed me to converse with other member of my Biology class to discuss the lectures and labs. The chat room cana provide a learning environment outside of the classroom. A lot of classes around campus have the caht rooms set up privately for only the students registered in that class. This is a security device that makes sure people who do not belong to a particular class do not gain access to the room. Private chats can be set up if that interests the individual using the room. The chat room is a good source to use inside and outside of the classroom.

paragraph coherance exercise

"* Belief that not enough is being done to provide safe social networking sites is dominant right now. There are many reports of kidnappings, assaults, and stalkers linked directly to these sites. There is also concern the majority of people doesn’t know or understand how to use the privacy settings. @[Another point being] that there are ways around these settings that more and more people are figuring out. I personally believe the middle ground should be dominant. A reason for this being the 'bad' effects of facebook and myspace have not affected me personally. @[Also] I understand the privacy settings and believe they work. @[I also think] the person has a lot to do with the situation and people responsible for social networking sites are not necessarily responsible for the safety of its users. The user decides how much information to reveal on these sites. I think it's important for a person to take responsibility for themselves in these kinds of situations."

This exercise was beneficial I thought, it's something new that i've never tried before. I see this exercise helping more and more with my future papers.

Tiger Burn

I think the decision to not go through with the burning of a tiger this year before the Clemson game is a good one. Usually, tradition outweighs all other things-at least for me- but taking into consideration the recent events at Ocean Isle, I believe this has been a very decent thing to do. I think this new change will benefit society in a positive way. The Ocean Isle fire was one of the worst tragedies to occur at USC and i'm glad that future events are being thought of in regards to the fire, instead of mourning for a few weeks and then pushing it into the back of our minds. I also think this is out of respect for the many friends, and family members directly affected by the fire.

Going Green

Both Jamie Lincoln Kitman and Patrick Moore support protecting the enviroment. However, they have very interesting view points concerning the arguments in their articles. Kitman, who is the New York bureau chief for Automobile Magazine makes an argument regarding Hybrid cars. When most people hear the word Hybrid in regards to an automobile they automatically think enviromentally friendly, but according to Kitman this is not always the case. This is because Hybrids are more effecient when used around town, if they are taken onto the interstate other cars, such as the toyota corolla, get much better mileage. Also, they are now making Hybrid SUVs, which get worse gas mileage than the average car. People are still purchasing them though, and it's because they are getting tax breaks, special parking passes, and use of special lanes of traffic. Another thing Kitman mentions is the recycling of these cars. If not done so properly the battery pack of a Hybrid is an enviromental hazard.
Patrick Moore's argument is about the need to start considering using nuclear energy. There have been instances in our history where things have happened such as Three Mile Island, but not major damage was done to people in the surrounding area of the nuclear plant. He also states that this is the only way to save our earth from a drastic climate change. Nuclear energy is the only alternative to the ever fading fossil fuels. A draw back to this is the ability to construct nuclear weapons from nuclear energy, however things are being done to help prevent this. In Japan a system where plutonium is never separated from the uranium has been implemented, which makes it more difficult to manufacture weapons with civilian materials. He makes a good point by mentioning that if we banned everything that could be used to kill people we never would have harnessed fire.
I think an author's biography influences his or her persuasiveness drastically. In my opinion, I'm more likely to be persuaded and actually listen, and retain the information if i'm under the impression it's coming from someone who knows what he is talking about.

Global Warming

In Jeffrey Kluger's article "Be Worried, Be Very Worried" he talks about what is causing global warming, as well as the effects of global warming. He credits many of the natural disasters such as drought fueled fires, Katrina, and cyclones to the emission of CO2. He includes many statistics in his piece, which helps support his claim. Some statistics being the Earth's CO2 concentration and the change in that over the years, as well as the cubic miles of melting glaciers.
Similar to Kluger's article, Lindzen does acknowledge the fact that there is a problem, however he takes a different approach to it. He believes that it's not really a cause for concern at this moment. He believes that global warming is inevitable. I think Lindzen's article was more persuasive, he makes good solid points and in the last sentence he states that the growing concern for global warming is more alarm rather than genuine scientific curiosity, which I happen to agree with.

Topic Proposal for Policy Paper

My essay will be a policy paper. My focus will be mainly on what can be done in the future to continue better equipping social networking sites with safety precautions. The main claim I will be making is that there should be an age requirement to access social networking sites. Subclaims that will support this are statistics regarding the number of kidnappings/stalking situations that have affected those under the age of 18, proof that the majority of people 18 and over have a better understanding of the risks they are taking when they reveal private information over social networking sites, and proof that the ratio of people over 18 to the people under 18 is greater concerning proper use of these sites as well as the knowledge of how such sites work. Also, the literal analogy of the other restrictions on those under 18 will prove helpful. Such as voting, purchasing tobacco products, and enlisting in the army. I will definitely have to do more research. I will try to find more statistics regarding my situation and quotes and arguments from authoritative figures on my claim.

Point IV -building into a topic proposal

1. The three perspectives outlined in my exploratory paper deal with issues of safety on social networking sites. Opinions about such information range from one extreme to another. Some think that there is not nearly enough being done to provide a safe atmosphere on these sites. Others the complete opposite. With the constant improvement of privacy settings, some think that those responsible for social networking safety are doing every bit of what they can. Then of course there is the middle ground who believe no one is ever going to be completely safe in cyberspace and that just enough is being done to placate the situation.
2. The belief that not enough is being done to provide safe social networking sites is dominant right now. There are many reports of kidnappings, assaults, and stalkers linked directly to these sites. There is also concern the majority of people don't know or understand how to use the privacy settings. Another point being that there are ways around these settings that more and more people are figuring out. I personally believe the middle ground should be dominant. A reason for this being the 'bad' effects of facebook and myspace have not affected me personally. Also I understand the privacy settings and believe they work. I also think the person has a lot to do with the situation and people responsible for social networking sites are not necessarily responsible for the safety of its users. The user decides how much information to reveal on theses sites. I think it's important for a person to take responsibility for themselves in these kind of situations.
3. The perspective of my choice could be impletmented as a policy by making some sort of 'age of accountability' type rule where the users of these sites have to be a certain age to access them. I personally think 18 would be sufficient because that is the age where most are considered an adult and most of the decisions that are made from that point on are yours. However, I'm not sure what kind of system could regulate this because putting a little notice saying you much be 18 or older, and then going by the birthdate they type in is probably not going to work.

Fat People : SWA#9

In the excerpt from The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life the author, Wendy Shanker, presents good ethos. She presents good character and fair-mindedness. Shanker does not criticize those who are skinny or those who are fat, she simply suggests accepting who we are and rolling with it. She represents a very interesting and empowering point of view. She makes it easy to agree with her, no matter what side of the weight spectrum you are on. I find it easy to accept and appreciate what the author has said simply because of the way she worded her argument. She took something that society views as a one-eyed monster, and compared it to rape, poverty, lack of health care, and civil war. Which makes weight and appearance seem exceptionally trivial. I believe Shanker’s target audience is anyone who feels uncomfortable with the way they look. The main argument being for ‘fat’ people, however she does mention on page 245 that women that wear a size 2 still feel crappy about themselves.
In “The Big Fat American Kid Crisis…and 10 Things We Should Do about it,” Eleanor Randolph presents her argument as a major problem that needs quick attention. Randolph includes statistics about obesity rates among children, as well as the many diseases that are rapidly increasing among the young, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. I think Randolph is very effective in making her proposals seem feasible. Her ideas to ban junk food in schools, regulate junk food ads, and upgrading school snacks are definitely within reach. She presents good ideas and seemingly easy ways to incorporate these thoughts. The inclusion of statistics also helps make Randolph’s proposals more viable.