Research, Research everywhere....when will it end?

First of all let me say that chapter 6 was very long...helpful and 'interesting' but long. Now that i got that out of the way, let me talk about the chapter or rant...which ever comes first.

I found chapter 6 helpful in the sense that it not only flicked on a few lights in my brain it also changed the lightbulbs. The first thing that helped was defining research,"Consider "research" as "re-search"...as searching again...becsaue when you research you acknowledge that you do not know everything you need in a given context." (page 144). Ok, kind of no-brainer really. Research stuff thet you didnt know before and as you are doing it you are re-learning the material andfinding out new things in the process. Very simple but very important in writing a research paper. Also doing research is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, you start off with the ends then work your was to the middle and then finally you have the end result.

Secondly i found the 5 steps or approaches that will not only help you come up with a thesis (like the example of Andrew and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the country) but how to keep it interesting and what types of thigns to use in the research paper. For example, "Research can really begin with a research question, a question that motivates you to do the research and gives you a direction...Questions lead to other questions..."(page 147, Section 1). I have added this excerpt from the book due to the fact that this is important. We first must have a research question and we must make it our own. We have to shape it and mold it in order to motivate us to ask questions. From these questions we can come up with some answers that wil lead us to the bigger picture.

Finally the last thing i found really interesting was the part on Alternative research questions. In the end there are 3 different types of ways to make an alternative research project, written, spoken and visual. We could make a video about people from our school and then comment on what type of clothes s/he is wearing in order to connect which 'group' they are in. We could also "Choose a particular medium... and collect as many examples of it as you can. Build a "museum" display...with explanatory signs" (page 176). I really liked the ideas about different ways to create a research project because writing above 2500 words is very tiresome.

If there is a will, there is a way…

Today will be an interesting day in history; today the Supreme Court will have the final say on Proposition 8. They will hear arguments for and against why Proposition 8 is good and why it is bad. After the 3 or so hours of conflicting arguments from the very different and intense sides of the spectrum, the Supreme Court will have 90 days to decide if Gay marriage will be banned in the state of California or will it be allowed. Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former governor of California has rejected the offer to become one of the top lawyers for the pro-proposition 8 group but has decided to back the anti-proposition 8 group. His reasoning for doing so was simple, since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage last year he believes “That precedent provides guidance for this case as well. It’s the same language cast in a different wrapper called an amendment.”

However it is not only gay marriage that is going on the chopping block today it is also the 18,000 gay and lesbian marriages that had taken place before Prop 8. If the supreme courts rule in favor of the pro-proposition 8 groups they believe that gay and lesbian marriages would be nullified in California. Civil rights attorneys believe that even if proposition 8 passes once again there should be two classes of gay marriage in California; those that were married before prop 8 and those married after prop 8. This as I have already stated will be an interesting point in our history books, will we accept the fact that same sex couples are human and are allowed to marry? Or will we close our eyes and say that gays and lesbians do not have the right to marry? There really is no easy way to fix this problem; people will become upset one way or the other.


http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11833279?nclick_check=1

From paper to reality, from a dream to a specialty!

Ok that was me trying to rap, I know I suck but hey I wanted to at least try…..epic fail on my part. From reading the SJMN I was interested in two articles. However I decided to choose the more educational one instead of the one about college students and where they will go for spring break. I have chosen to summarize the article about Silicon Valley turning green.

This article is basically talking about how there is a plan to turn Silicon Valley green. This is a response not only from the current economic downturn but also to be an example to a cleaner environment and as an example to other areas. The four major corner stone’s of this project are renewable energy, Building efficiency, clean transportation and finally Green infrastructure. There would be more solar panels located around Silicon Valley and there would be better financing options that would help us become less dependable on oil. There would be more building codes that would use more green materials that wouldn’t danger the public or the people working in the building. Asbestos is one such material that was once thought safe until it caused people who inhaled it to get cancer. This was widely used until it was condemned as harmful to the public. With Silicon Valley going green there would be more change. For example electric carmakers envision charging stations around Silicon Valley. It would provide an alternative and cleaner solution to cars and it would also support additional clean transportations companies and improve the mass-transit lines. Finally Silicon Valley would be the pioneer for new projects using green technology like improved solar panels and systems that monitor the energy. Al Gore, the former U.S. vice president challenged Silicon Valley to become green and the mayor of San Jose, Chuck Reed is in full support of this proposition and he has stated that, “Silicon Valley has accepted the Challenge,”

I really like this idea due to the fact that we are in a difficult period at the moment. Not only would this help us by creating jobs and opportunities to get us out of this financial slump but it would also help us find ways to stop the ever lingering problem of global warming.

From chainsaws to old people teaching……

The reading was interesting; it showed very different types of writing from social equalities to a concerned citizen living in the mountains who is worried about social disintegration. Each article had their own type of message and way it was delivered. For example the thing that captured my attention in walking the line was the picture of the Tentons and the Snake River. Firstly it gave me the impression of this article talking about humans and their relationship with nature (a long shot I know…I am an optimist and damn proud of it!). However I was surprised that he was more concerned about social collapse while at the same time he was buying ammunition and chainsaw blades…doesn’t that just promote the idea of social collapse? Hmmm….maybe he is preparing for the imminent zombie invasion as depicted in Resident Evil or as depicted in 'Zombie Animals'.

I really liked the article about the Kupuna in Hawaii and the Department of Education. The reason I liked it was due to the fact that I know someone who is considered a Kupuna. Even though I am not Hawaiian I was raised by her, her husband and their family and have been apart of their Hawaiian traditions and parties. I am considered by them Hawaiian, even though I am Mexican. By stating it was about Kupuna’s in Hawaii I was urged to read this (Ethos). How they wanted to remove the kupuna program despite the fact Hawaii is a very family orientated island made my blood boil (Pathos). Finally how the writer explained logically his stance and allowing me to follow his every step was interesting (Logos).

A Blog for your thoughts?

One of my favorite ones was the one titled "I Don't Really Want to Go into Personal Things in This Blog": Risking Connection through Blogging. This one was interesting because he understood that to get in touch with people he had to get a little personal. This actually made a connection with me due to the fact his original goal was not to get connected with people he didn’t know. I liked it because while we use facebook or myspace there is a certain amount of give and take required and the writer and the reader have a deeper understanding of blogs. We as writers and as blog users have to decide what we have to give to our audience, even if it is just a tiny nugget of truth so that we may better understand someone else when we take information from them. I was the same way when I began to use a blog, but after awhile I just had to tell a little bit more about myself and soon I had more and more contacts on the blog. Also this concept is actually applied to real world situations if you really think about it. We got closer to people by opening up and telling them something about ourselves. We might and try to keep to ourselves all the time but honestly you would not make any connections with people at all. What I also liked about this was that the teacher was told by one of his students to loosen up. This in turn shows that even though teachers do not know everything about everyone, they too have to give and take.

Another one of the ‘blogging tales’ I liked was the one called, Blogging from the Bottom: A Cautionary Tale. The reason I liked this…I really don’t know why. I guess I liked it because it showed the good and the bad of blogging. That we have the power to post and yet we have the spear to delete it if it does not fit within our standards or if it questions our authority as the article says ‘dictators’. Another reason I liked it was because I actually never really thought about it that much, the idea that we are leaders of our own blogs. I have never really thought about it that way before, I always thought of it as more of a communal thing. We all put in, the good and the bad and we all take out whatever is sowed.

For some weird reason I don’t know why but I liked the anecdote called The Bane of the President's Existence. I found it funny in the beginning yet I found it more and more interesting as I read it. I liked how he started off his blog with an anecdote about him being the bane of the president. Then I liked how he linked that to his other main ideas which were blogging as an instructional tool to grading a blog to blogging spam. I have actually seen a few blogs that said “This person is the bane of my life because………so they suck!” and sometimes around these lines. I have seen people slam other people on a blog and made sure everyone reads it, whether it is a disagreement between friends, a family member or some random person you met on the street.