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Announcement: All remaining class meetings will be in the Enterprise 420 computer lab. (4/11, 4/13, 4/18, 4/20, 4/25, 4/27, 5/2, 5/4)
Reminder: Final draft of second essay due Tuesday night. Interpret "Tuesday night" freely.
#&*#@^&$: I just learned this whole thing about the Abdi Dahir arrest. You guys are supposed to keep me up to speed on what's happening on campus! How did we not talk about this in class? Just joking, but I'm am mad at myself for missing this: Part 1, Part 2. This may be the one exception to our "not talking about things besides the research paper from now on" rule. And a great topic for the paper as well.
Link: This is a huge story in the world of education. It will also sound all too familiar to viewers of The Wire. Apparently Michele Rhee might have raised the standardized test scores in DC schools by...
Link: Interesting article about the debate over standards for college writing courses.
Link: This article may be most interesting to the journalism/comm. majors, but it's about a larger issue which is the idea of teaching personal branding in a university course and to what extent it is harmonious with other educational goals. The article also uses a familiar metaphor: "the game."
Random: I would encourage any sports fans to think about potential research paper topics in that area. I think mine would be about NBA moms.
Clarification: I mentioned in class that "nounification," the transformation of simple verbs and adjectives into abstract nouns, is often a sign of unconfident or overly formal writing. I realized there is an exception, which is if you want to present a couple of major concepts in an essay. It can be useful to label those by nouns. Like if your thesis is about why protagonists in American pop culture fictions seem to wear leather jackets so often, you could say, "this paper investigates what I'll call the leather jacket effect." So like many other rhetorical devices, nounification is something that works if you do it strategically, but not if you overuse it indiscriminately.
Opportunity: "The George Mason Review is currently hiring students to work as Peer Reviewers on their editorial board. Peer Reviewers are vital members to the board, who evaluate and choose submissions to be published in the journal. These positions will give students the opportunity to work in a professional publication setting – an experience that will look excellent on a resume. Those who are interested, and would like additional information, can contact at Managing Editor Candace Baker, cbaker7_at _masonlive.gmu.edu " This was an email sent to me. Note for clarity: at most colleges a publication ending in "review" usually belongs to whatever student group represents conservatives on campus, but that's not what this is.
1)I am interested in the foster care and adoption options for inner city kids
ReplyDeletea.This relates to The Wire because it introduces kids like Randy who are put into the system and unfortunately end up getting lost within the system, without a real home to live in
i.What are some of the reasons kids are put into the foster care system?
ii.How does the selection process work when it comes to foster homes?
iii.What are reasons that foster parents give up the children before they find permanent home?
iv.What age is most typically adopted through the foster care system?
v.What is the age range of kids in the system?
vi.Who specifically looks out for the best interest of these kids?
vii.What are the standards and tests people must pass to become foster parents?
viii.How many adoption agencies are there in most cities? (Baltimore, New York, D.C, etc…)
ix.What type of power does Child Services have over dysfunctional families and the protection of the children in those situations?
x.What is the likelihood of keeping siblings together when placed into the system?
2)I am interested in the use of actual prior criminals playing characters on The Wire and their stance on how accurate the show is to the reality of their world in the past
a.This relates to The Wire because it takes an inside look on the actors playing the parts in the show and also how the writing and directing of the show either shows an accurate depiction of the Baltimore drug world or overemphasizes and dramatizes it
i.How many drug kingpins are typically found in popular cities?
ii.What is the homicide rate in most large cities?
1.How many of those are drug or gang related?
iii.What experiences did the actors have in the drug world prior to being on the show?
iv.Have they ever served time?
v.If they owned weapons, how often did they have the need to use them?
vi.What is the average age of people in cities receiving drug charges?
vii.Are there women involved in the actual drug trafficking as well as violence in most cities? (like the character Snoop)
viii.How many major crimes units have been set up to take down actual drug lords like Avon and Marlo?
1.How many of these have been successful?
ix.What is the average age of drug lords that have been convicted in large cities?
x.What are the actor’s personal thoughts about The Wire?
Should inefficient, dying industries be saved by the government for the sake of the workers?
ReplyDelete-I am interested in this mostly because of The Wire and because of the current problems with job-layoffs/outsourcing that the United States has experienced recently. At one time we employed huge numbers of people for production purposes. Now, with mechanized processes or cheap overseas labor, we are seeing some industries die or be transformed. The workers are left without jobs.
-This is related to season two of The Wire, in which we follow the lives of dock workers in Baltimore. New technology has made human power all-but unnecessary for the shipping industry, which made the dock-workers’ union demand a safety net for the employees. When the shipping industry inevitably becomes mechanized, all those men would be out of work. But the errors produced by human labor may necessitate this change.
1. Which industries are dying/needing dramatically less workers?
2. Which areas in the United States are dependant on a certain industry? (i.e. Michigan)
3. What amount of human-error is eliminated when an industry is mechanized/out-sourced?
4. Do people oppose mechanization or outsourcing of labor more?
5. Does the government care to save industries that are antiquated?
6. Who does care to save antiquated industries? Only the workers?
7. Is there a relationship between the mechanization/outsourcing of labor and environmental problems?
8. Should mechanization and outsourcing of labor be examined separately?
9. How many jobs have mechanization/outsourcing eliminated in the US?
10. Does the US lose or make money after an industry is largely mechanized/outsourced?
11. Are there similar situations in other countries? Which industries?
12. Where do we outsource to?
13. Are those who lose their jobs taken care of by the industry?
The king cheetah, poaching laws, depletion of a species.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in this topic because I feel that the connection between the illegal poaching that occurs with these animals and the illegal trading and domesticating of these animals would be an interesting (yet sad) topic to write on.
It relates to the Wire because of all the ethical and moral dilemmas associated with the trade, and also the need to support family and survive as humans, making the killing and trade a necessary evil to ensure the life of farmers livestock and to bring in extra money.
1. What are the main reasons for the depletion of the species?
2. What is the biggest use/demand for these animals?
3. How are they smuggled across security and why aren't the poachers being managed better?
4. What are the measures the wild life preserves are taking to prevent the hunting of these animals?
5. What are the wild life preserves doing to ensure the life and breeding of the animals?
6. How are the animals treated in captivity vs. the wild and what is a better chance of survival?
7. What are the rates of survival for the cheetah in captivity vs. the wild?
8. How does the trading of endangered animals correlate with the drug trade and what are the ethical dilemmas?
9. What is the social class of the poachers and people who are trading these animals? Does this affect their drive?
10. What are the poaching laws? Why aren't the animals being protected better? Whose fault is this? Are there harsh enough laws?
Fast food consumption: includes sodas, fast food chains present on college campuses, the availability of these foods, and the obesity epidemic.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in this topic because I am studying to be a nurse, and it feels very applicable to me. Not to mention we are surrounded by these types of foods every day. I feel we should be informed about the things that surround us on a daily basis.
This is related to The Wire because it is a rarity that we see anyone in the show actually eat something they cooked on their own or with a family. Chinese takeout is all too often the dinner option, and this can be observed by the police and the corner kids as well.
C. Food and Beverage: should fast food be allowed on college campuses?
1. What fast foods are represented on college campuses?
2. What is the common “theory” behind the consumption of fast food?
3. Is there such thing as “bad” fast food?
4. Is there such thing as “good” fast food?
5. How much fast food is actually consumed on college campuses?
6. How does fast food compare to cafeteria food? Which is better for an individual?
7. Why do kids want fast food?
8. What would college kids’ food options on campus be if there wasn’t any fast food?
9. What is the stigma behind fast food?
10. Where do the ingredients for fast food come from?
11. How does the obesity epidemic factor in?
12. What are some of the laws concerning fast food in and/or around college campuses?
The Black Market for endangered animals in Indonesia
ReplyDeleteI am interested in this topic because it is a big problem in a corrupt country, and the laws have not been looked at in decades. The current fine is the equivalent to 50 cents. This old law allows the sellers to continue to carry on their business and continue the unethical treatment of animals in a public venue without any opposition from the law. Because the police are so corrupt they will accept bribes from anyone trying to get out of a charge.
It relates to the Wire because of the social status of the sellers of illegal contraband. The Indonesian locals are often in a lower socioeconomic status then those who are not forced to go out on the street and sell illegal animals. The drug dealers are often those of lower economic class. This correlation of the venders and the trade they chose to be a part of is indicative of their struggles to stay financially sound and maintain a livable lifestyle for themselves and probably a family.
1. What are the laws that are supposed to prevent this Black market from being so open and flourishing?
2. What are the consequences for the trade?
3. What kinds of animals are they selling? And what conditions are they kept in?
4. What are the ethical dilemmas of capturing and selling animals that are endangered species?
5. What are the dangers of keeping the animals in such crowded quarters, or in cages?
6. What is the survival statistic of an animal in this market?
7. Who is buying these animals?
8. What is being done? Why is it so open and publicly recognized?
9. What can people do to prevent this trade? Will it ever be fully under control?
10. Where are the venders getting their animals from?
The quality of America’s public education system and the effect of standardized testing on a student’s education.
ReplyDelete-I am interested in this because teaching for a test does not necessarily educate a student on the actual topic they are being taught. What is the difference between teaching a subject and giving a test on things learned and teaching to answer questions on a test?
-Season 4 of The Wire focuses heavily on the education system in Baltimore and social advancement programs to ensure students advance even though most of them are not academically qualified. Season 4 also focuses on schools teaching to tests in order to make the school and teachers look better—not giving the students quality education.
1. What is the reason for standardized testing?
2. Are there benefits with standardized testing?
3. What are negative effects due to standardized testing?
4. Is teaching to a test beneficial to the student’s education?
5. Does this form of testing make schools/teachers look good/bad?
6. Are these tests being used to “juke” the stats?
7. How much money does a school get based on test scores?
8. Is the difference between public education in America and in Europe?
9. How does tying a teacher’s salary to a district’s test results affect higher education standards?
10. What are the effects of forced grade advancement?
Possible Topics [Awid Shahidi]
ReplyDelete1. The common misconception of Health and Medicine ( how overtreated we are/ how hospitals are not safe/ how doctors are not as good as we think they are) ( less is more theory) Economic standpoint
Relation to the wire: Someone in the position of power is influenced by other incentives i.e. financial gain, similarely to how doctors are in a power position yet they are confined and have limits, and do not know everything,which exposes patients to hire risk.
Questions:
1. What are long term effects of Adderrall?
2. How easily is Adderrall prescribed?
3. What type of diseases are over-medicated?
4. How do anxiety pills work?
5. Is there medicine for hypochondria?
6. Common problems with anesthesia.
7. How does health care play a role in the inefficiency of Medical Use?
8. How often do doctors actually turn patients away and say, “You are fine?”
9. What are the statistics of deaths due to mistreatment from doctors?
10. Do more people die from car accidents or hospital mistreatment?
2. The unnecessary U.S. involvement in other countries.
Relation to the Wire: There is a distinct form of superiority and inferiority complex depicted throughout all of the seasons of the wire among the characters.
Questions:
1. Which countries does the U.S. have good relations with?
2. Which countries does the U.S. have bad relations with?
3. Which countries benefitted from U.S. involvement?
4. Which countries did not benefit from U.S. involvement?
5. Which countries did the U.S. get involved with selflessly?
6. Why are we as powerful as we think?
7. What goods are we lacking in?
8. What are the market failures involved in the over-involvement of the U.S. in other countries?
9. If the U.S. is wrongly involved in other countries, why do so many people immigrate here?
10. What is the current issue with U.S. international involvement?