LAST Question of the Week...ever...!!!!!

In the beginning of the semester, we worked on defining rhetoric. Looking back, I believe that we adequadely defined it. Throughout this semester, we have worked on refining that definition and bringing it to life through our writing. Rhetoric writing has a purpose, audience, genre, sstance, and medium/design element. The degrees of the components of rhetoric vary greatly among different kinds of writing depending on these five qualities. I would still define rhetoric in pretty much the same way; a kind of writing for a purpose, that is written for a specific intent and completes that attempt successfully.

Question of the Week Nov. 19

Satire is a powerful communication tool. In Swift's Modest Proposal, he uses satire to show true problems in Irish society; poverty, overcrowding, and ill-taken care of children. By proposing a horrid satirical solution to these problems, Swift is drawing attention to the problems themselves and causing people to think about real solutions that could be applied. Satire is a tool that has been used for years to poke fun, draw attention, and induce certain feelings in readers that provoke a proactive response. It is effective in political situations, general news situations, and national problems, such as Ireland's poverty.

Academic integrity and plagiarism are sensitive subjects for all kinds of writers. I believe that one's right to what they have written should be upheld and they should be able to dictate how and when it is used by others. When using someone else's writing, one should give proper credit to that person for the ideas or facts expressed in that writing. Academic integrity is upholding these standards. Plagiarism is copying another's work intentionally. However, we can run into problems defining plagiarism when someone inadvertently writes a sentence in the same format as someone else previously did. As humans, our minds often think and express ideas alike, so the chances of someone writing the same thing as someone else are quite high. There are only so many ways that one can express an idea in the English language.

Question of the Week, Nov. 5, 2008

In the field of hospitality, most controversies and questions lie below the surface and rarely are exposed to media or those outside the industry, unless if they are extremely heated or controversial, such as the issues of casinos and ethics, or minimum wage for workers. New concepts aren't as often publicized as they might be in other industries. I find the minimum wage controversy very interesting, as a current worker in the field and future industry leader, thus why I have chosen it as my paper topic. I also find questions about the "greening" of hotels and environmental sustainability quite fascinating. New fields in hospitality, such as agri-tourism, adventure tourism and eco-tourism generate many new questions about what true ecological sustainability means and how practical it is. However, I am not so interested in corporate issues and questions or ultra-urban-chic projects; I prefer smaller businesses and more laidback rural approaches.

Question of the Week, Oct. 29, 2008

This situation is very similar to the way we write. We often know little in depth information about a subject before embarking on the journey of writing a paper about it. So, we might see or read something that interests us (overhearing the conversation), but we need more information about it. The sources that we use are often not the first to think actively about this topic, there have probably been numerous discussions or works written about the topic earlier, providing some background information. Once we learn more about the subject, we undoubtedly start to form our own opinions and views about it, which often get shown/exhibited in our writing. Others read this writing of ours and then form their own opinions about it, causing a furthering of the discussion. When we are done writing and people stop reading our paper, the discussion continues with new people until it is no longer relevant or to the end of time. This is a kind of cyclical knowledge. I found Burke's way of portraying this situation very interesting; I had never thought about it like that before.

Question of the Week, Oct. 22, 2008

This article was very interesting!! I felt that it was totally true for me. I have found that my "reading" on the web is more of a skimming for important words and points. I feel that it is harder to concentrate when reading on the web because of sidebars and other page features, as well as being harder on the eyes than just reading from a book. It also has a much less formal feel than reading from a book. Online reading is probably hurting today's generation in that it is teaching them to read in a very haphazard, unproductive way. I personally find it easier, more interesting, and much more productive to read from a paper source. The move to digitize learning is what should be slowed down. Everything is so fast paced and rushed; we have no chance to sit down and learn/observe. Online reading is only hurting us more.

Question of the week, Oct. 15, 2008

Now that the UL unit is drawing to a close, I can say that I have learned what sources to trust and which to be careful and wary of. In order to tell if something is true, I must investigate the source and obtain all possible supporting information and possibly other similar stories. I can then compare sources and stories to see how they line up and think about the plausibility of these various tales that I hear. If the story comes from a first-hand witness, there is a greater sense of truthfulness than if it came through a grapevine of people. The internet, even if the author says that they are an eyewitness, is not a totally trustworthy source of information considering anyone can say pretty much anything they want to, without having any checks on it.

Question of the Week, Oct. 8, 2008

That video was interesting, to say the least. I could write pages about what the author of the paper did wrong, aside from accepting a contract to write someone else's English paper. He did everything opposite of the right thing to do when writing an English paper! First of all, even if the topic is awful, think of something positive. In his case, he could concentrate on getting it done well so that he could play video games or whatever. Second, he was way too informal in his writing. His writing was also very generalized and had no true, hard facts. I think that the point of showing us this is to make light of how we write our papers, and show us in an exaggerated form how ridiculous our writing is sometimes!

Question of the Week, Oct. 1, 2008 (reversed with last week's question)

Sorry, this is the answer to last week's question because I accidentally did this week's question last week!
Anyways, I haven't heard too many urban legends. I have heard a couple through watching MythBusters in Physics class last year, though. I heard the one about the microwaved insides from tanning, industrial lift catapult, and several others. I also have heard about Poseidon being screened as the Titanic was sinking, bad images and words in Disney films, Mr. Ed was really a zebra, the $1000 forwarding emails where you get money from AOL or Bill Gates, and also several cryptozoology legends.
I never totally believed any urban legends that when I found out that they weren't true I wasn't surprised. I just wasn't exposed to too many urban legends to believe any. Of course, there are a ton of superstition and wives tales such as different wedding traditions, throwing salt over your left shoulder, and good luck legends that I have heard but I don't think they fall into the "Urban Legends" category as we are defining it.
As a result, I never really spread any urban legends just because I didn't hear them.

Question of the Week, Sept. 22, 2008

There are a few generally accepted ways of investigating urban myths and legends. Most all investigations start with some background, bare-bones research to get the basic background information on the myth and different variations of it that might be circulating. The next steps might involve conducting an experiment (such as the MythBusters TV show and the scuba diver in a forest fire myth), talking to experts in myths or the subject at hand (again, in the tv show they spoke to folklorists and helicopter equipment experts), or digging deeper to find more information about the myth (such as in the Broiled Again! myth when both Abigail van Buren and Brunvant called hospitals to see if they had ever treated a certain condition/patient). In our case, when we are researching the myths that we have chosen, we will just research other peoples' research when it comes to the investigation.

Question of the Week, Sept. 15, 2008

WOW! It's incredible how much the web impacts our lives. I find it somewhat scary how large of a role computers and their applications have in our everyday interactions. It is very convenient, some of the time, to use computers and digital text instead of handwriting something, but it loses personal characteristics. It's kind of an oxymoron; the more personal information we are sharing with people, we are doing it in such an impersonal way! I would much rather receive written messages from family and friends than e-mailed or typed messages, but e-mail does travel faster. I am a very traditional person, so I have a hard time trying to justify myself using all of this technology when I don't need it, per se. The video was VERY interesting. I didn't ever realize, or understand, the difference between the content and applications in website design. The flexibility and possible applications for the web and digital text are endless and will continue to change and expand due to rapidly developing technology.

Question of the Week, Sept. 10, 2008

I have done numerous different types of writing; from poems, journal entries, and short stories to academic papers and lab reports. The longest paper I have ever written is a 20 page report on WWI. It was tedious and took an immense amount of research, but was quite interesting. Of all the types of writing, I enjoy journaling about personal experiences the most. Research papers are also interesting, depending on the subject. I love writing about travel destinations, historical events, and biographical reports on interesting historical figures. I love history, especially that of the United States from 1700-present. However, I hate writing lab reports and research papers with boring topics. Poems are also quite difficult for me to write, especially when they have to be structured in a certain way (sonnet, haiku, etc.) or have a rhyme scheme. I find it challenging to write about myself and my personal experiences when I know that it is going to be read by others outside of my immediate circle of family and friends. However, I find it relieving to write about myself when I am writing a journal or diary entry or a letter to friends or family. I get very self concsious when I know that others will read about me and it almost makes me feel vulnerable.

Question of Week, Sept. 1, 2008

I always like to be prepared, so I carry lots of various things, both physical and intangible, with me. Coming to college really showed me how much I do like to carry and how I often overpack. The list of what I brought goes on and on, from basics like a toothbrush and shampoo to a favorite stuffed animal, posters of my favorite hockey players, pictures of my family, friends, and home area, clothes, food, and even a pair of handweights to help me stay in shape. I don't like to be bored, so I try to carry a pen and some paper wherever I go. I like to be able to write down my experiences, thoughts, dreams, or even just to-do lists. The soldiers also carried personal items, though not to the extent that I have! They were much more lacking in space and had to bring only the smallest most important objects with them. However, we both brought comfort items; things that remind us of the people and the places that we left behind on our journeys. Just a glance at a picture of a smiling face or the scenery that comprises "home" can make a day brighter. We both brought hygeine products to prolong our lives, food for when our "overseers" (the Army and the college) don't provide, and also memories of a past life and experiences. In a scaled down and twisted way, I can feel the similar feelings of separation from friends and loved ones. I also carry the hope that I will see them again soon, hope for the safety of us all, worry about what the next day will bring, and anticipation of reunions. The soldiers were in a much more dangerous situation than I am, so their emotions were even more difficult, but pretty much of the same nature. As humans, we have the same basic needs of survival and the same driving factors in our lives. One can observe this by studying what we all carry with us both on a daily basis and when journeying.

this is a test

this is a test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!